One Pony's Tale: The Drake Chronicles Vol 6: Hell House
by Dr-Lovekill
Summary: Volume 6 of the series. When Drake, Dash and Budder agree to investigate an old mansion in Manehattan, they stumble across something far worse than a smuggling ring. As a great evil awakens in the house, they find themselves fighting to survive until dawn...and for their sanity. One of the darkest Drake stories so far. Rated for violence and the supernatural.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

 _Whoo...hey everypony. I've finally been able to finish typing up and posting Chapter one of Volume 6. This story is FAR different than all of the other stories, and introduces a new element into Drake's life. What is it exactly, you'll just have to read to find out. If you're just now joining the story, you may want to go back to the beginning and start with volume one. If you don't you'll probably be lost otherwise. If you're too lazy to read five novels in one sitting, you should be able to enjoy this story anyway. So, without further ado, submitted for your approval, here is Volume 6 of the Drake Chronicles. Please review. Enjoy!_

My day started as usual. At least until I drifted into consciousness. I woke up and rolled over, finding that my Dashie had already gotten up, as she usually did. I groaned a moment, and rolled to my other side, looking at the clock. My eyes shot fully open. The timepiece on the nightstand read 2:40pm. I knew I was a heavy sleeper, and it was normal for me to sleep until ten or eleven sometimes, but who had let me sleep until almost three in the afternoon?!

"The Hell?" I groaned. I rolled out of bed, and made my way across the large bedroom and turned the doorknob. The door wouldn't open. I turned the knob the other way and pushed harder, but the door seemed to be stuck. Mumbling swears and oaths under my breath, I rammed my shoulder into the door. I pulled back, and battered the door again, finally slinging it open. I was met immediately by the sound of a spring releasing, and half a dozen eggs splattered on my face. After a short moment of silent but intense raging, I stepped into the upstairs hallway, ready to ream somepony for the cruel prank.

"Daaaash!" I yelled. I glanced around suspiciously. "Buuuudder?" There was no answer. "Budder saber, front aaannnd center!" Nothing. "Hey! Dashie! Anypony home?" The house remained silent. Obviously, as I deduced, either my marefriend or my sister had set this boobytrap, but they had gone out when I failed to wake my carcass up at a reasonable time. Ugh...I'd take care of _that_ when they got home. For now, I needed to take a shower.

I trotted down the hall to the bathroom, and turned on the shower, adjusting the water until it was nice and warm. Not hot...I hated hot showers. I stepped into the large, opulent bathtub that had come with the house, and pulled the shower curtain shut before starting the arduous task of scrubbing the goopy mess out of my mane. I dumped a very liberal amount of Mane and Tail Shampoo onto my head, and began lathering it up.

My eyes clamped shut against the shampoo, I was caught offguard for one of the very few times in my life. I didn't see the shadow cast onto the shower curtain, its hoof upraised ominously. With my attention fully diverted on getting clean, I was tragically unaware of the dark figure's presence in the room, or its ill intent until I was hit by a wall of scalding hot water that made me cry out. At the same moment, I heard the toilet flush, and the bathroom door slam.

"Oh damn ass jackhell...who the piss..." I screamed, making up profanities as I went, and stringing them together as my fury and consternation allowed. Now, I was beyond annoyed. Annoyed was two prairies ago. Somepony was about to get it. I washed the rest of the shampoo off and turned off the shower. Moments later, I was storming down the stairs in agonizing anger.

"Aaalllllright, Drake's for battle, and somepony's about to pay the pied piiiiAHHHH!" I cried out as I hit the marbles on the next-to-last step and fell in a heap on the floor. I was greeted by the sound of roaring laughter. I stood and watched Rainbow Dash and Budder, rolling on the floor, laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

"Dash?! Budder?! What...why?" I demanded.

"Hahaha...chillax sweetheart...heeheehee." Dashie laughed. "It's Pranksgiving Day!

"Ugghhh..." I groaned. Of course. Dashie was always one for practical jokes. Pranksgiving Day, of all the...

"You should have seen...heehee..." My sister laughed. "...theheehee the showeerrrr..." And my sister? Et tu, Budder?

"You guys..." I complained. "I was about to break somepony in half..."

"Oh you big wet blanket." Dash whined. She trotted over and nuzzled me. "You seriously gotta learn to take a joke." She smiled sweetly at me.

"Joke?" I asked incredulously.

"Well _we_ thought it was pretty funny." Dash said with a grin.

"Mmm. Well, the egg thing _was_ pretty good." I admitted. "Kinda sophisticated for a prank though."

"I thought that up, and Dash helped build it." Budder said proudly. "Took us forever to get it working right."

"Well you had all day to do it!" I replied. "I've never slept this late in my _life_."

"Whatever do you mean?" Dash asked innocently. I eyed her suspiciously as she bit her lip.

"It's three in the afternoon!" I exclaimed.

"Three? Bub, it's only like...eleven..." Budder stated.

"Eleven? But my clock said..." I looked back at Dash, who let out a long, high-pitched squeak, restraining her laughter. "Dashie..."

"Baaaahahahahahaha!" She burst out. "Gotcha!" I gave her a deadpan look until her laughter subsided.

"Know what would've made all this even funnier to me?" I asked.

"Whazzat?" Budder returned.

"If it had happened to somepony else." I said dryly. I grinned. "I'll get the two of you back...don't you worry about that." I said menacingly, my grin becoming an evil smirk.

"Now...I'm kinda scared." My sister whined, getting behind Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, you're right to be, angel." I said. "Know what they say about payback, right? It's a...well, that's not for little pony ears."

"Wh...what are you gonna do?" Budder asked.

"What I'm gon...OHOHOHOHO what I'm gonna do..." I said sadistically. "What IIIIII'm gonna doooo to you. It's...gonna...be...BAD!" They both jumped. I chuckled to myself, and continued. "You think what you two did was good? Well...heh...heh...heh...I'm gonna get you. The _both_ of you soooo good...you'll never wanna play a prank on _anypony_ ever again. THEN...I'm gonna take it even further...SO far, you'll not sleep for a whoooooole month!" Dash gulped loudly, and they were both shaking in fear.

"Then..." I continued. "And ONLY then...will the hammer forged in the infernal fire of what you've done to me fall upon you both, crushing you utterly against the ANVIL OF YOUR ETERNAL MISERY!" I was panting now, and I grinned madly. "But first...but FIRST" I stepped slowly toward my marefriend and my sister, and they both shrank back in fear. "But FIRST...I gotta get my morning coffee." I said normally, regaining my composure like nothing was wrong. They both gave me a confused look until I smiled triumphantly and said "Gotcha."

"Dude..." Dash panted. "Drake...that was..."

"Bubby..." Budder quaked. "You scared me to death there."

"That was SO AWESOME!" Dashie exclaimed. "I thought we were dead meat! Using your psychobabble stuff to prank us? Totally cool!"

"That's why you love me." I grinned. I trotted into the kitchen, and put on a pot of strong coffee as Dash and Budder joined me. "Sorry for spooking you angel." I said to my sister. "But you did have it coming."

"Yeeaahhhh..." She droned.

"Heh. Love you sis." I said.

"Love you too, bub." She replied, giving me a hug. There was a knock at the door.

"Dashie, could you get that?" I asked. "I don't feel like answering the door and getting a pie in the face or something."

"Heheh...paranoid?" My marefriend asked, walking to the door. A few moments later, I heard a familiar voice.

"Greetings, Rainbow Dash. Have you been well?" The voice of Princess Celestia said. Rainbow Dash immediately bowed.

"Yes, Princess Celestia, we've been really good lately, and having the most awesome adventures ever!"

"I am very happy to hear that. You've all been a big help to me, and all of Equestria." The princess stated.. Why was the princess at my house? This had to be either really good, or extremely bad.

"May I come in?" Celestia asked.

"Of course, your highness." Dashie answered, standing aside to allow the solar princess in. "Drakes right in here, having his morning coffee." With that, Princess Celestia stepped into our house, her radiant mane shimmering like the dawn.

"Lieutenant Drake, just the pony I wished to see." Celestia said with a warm smile.

What brings you all the way to Whinnyhawken, Your Majesty?" I asked curiously.

"I was going to send you a letter, Drake..." Celestia began. "But I was unsure how to phrase the situation in writing."

"A criminal case?" I queried, cocking my head to the side. It was unusual that any criminal case, no matter how strange, could be that impossible to describe.

"Not exactly." Celestia sighed. "This case...should you take it, is unlike anything you've ever worked on before. If anypony can figure it out, no matter what the truth of the matter may be, it is you."

"I appreciate your faith in me as always, Your Highness." I said. "But I still don'y understand why this case would be so strange." I thought to myself for a moment. "Please, princess...have a seat. I'll get myself a cup of coffee, and you can tell us everything."

"Thank you." Celestia smiled. She pulled out a chair with her magic, and sat down. I poured myself a nice, hot cup of caffeine-filled coffee, and trotted to the other side of the table, across from the princess, to my favorite chair.

"I've worked some...very odd cases, Your Majesty." I began, preparing to sit.

"Buuuuub..." Budder whispered loudly.

"Not now, sis." I commanded.

"As I said, I have complete faith in..." The princess was cut off by a loud trumpeting of flatulance as I sat down. I froze, mortified. Princess Celestia blushed, and I felt my own face grow hot. I reached underneath me, and pulled out a large pink whoopee cushion. I slowly turned my head and looked at my sister, who looked as terrified and embarrassed as I'm sure I did. In fact, out of all of the situations I'd been in, this felt like the most gut-wrenching...until I heard a feminine giggling. I looked to see the highest power in the land holding a hoof to her mouth and laughing lightly.

"Oh...I am sorry, lieutenant..." Celestia said. She giggled daintily. "Pranksgiving Day?"

"Eeyup." I groaned, tossing the pratfall aside. I sighed, and took a long drink of my well-deserved coffee.

"Now, I shall explain." The princess stated. "It appears that I have a problem...with a house."

"A house?" Dash asked, sitting at the table.

"A house." Celestia repeated. "It is an old house, built a century and a half ago by a very strange unicorn, who was part of a very strange mystical order."

"Sounds very strange." My sister said, sitting down at the table as well. Celestia giggled again.

"This is unmistakably _your_ sister, Drake." The princess stated. Her smile then faded. "But back to the matter at hoof...much legend has built up around the large mansion. Many dark tales have been told, tales of ponies disappearing forever in the house, stories of dark magic and evil spirits...everypony thought it was all just fantasy until..."

"Yes?" I pressed.

"An entire construction crew, five ponies in fact...just vanished." Celestia explained. "They were sent to assess the structure for their firm, who was hired by the city. Nopony knows what happened to them."

"The local authorities?" I asked, hoping to piece together an idea of what happened.

"Because of the reputation of the house, and the disappearance of so many ponies, none of the local authorities will go near the mansion because of their fear.

"Mmhmm." I mused. "And where is this cursed old house, your majesty?"

"Not far from here, in fact." "It is on the other side of Manehattan, near the sea."

"Really?" I asked, now very interested. "If I may, princess, you kow that Manehattan has a very high incidence of crime."

"Yes, of course..." Celestia sighed.

"And this house, being near the waterfront, it would be very possible that this is a criminal case. You have a big abandoned house in a prime spot for criminal activity. Add a few urban legends scaring everypony away from the place, and voila...you have a smuggler's paradise."

"That is a very interesting theory, my dear Drake." Celestia remarked. "And if you are correct, it is a very comforting one." There was a moment of silence, and the princess spoke again. "Will you then investigate the house?"

"Hm...same arrangement as usual, your higheness?" I queried.

"Indeed. This being of the utmost importance to me, I will pay you 10,500 bits upon the conclusion of your investigation." I whistled at the number. Ten thousand, five hundred bits...with what we already had from our last big mission, that would be more than enough for us to eat very well for an entire year, and enough to build an extra room onto the house, should we want to.

"That's quite a lot of bits, your highness." I commented. "Just to go look at an old house."

"Yes, well...this is quite a problem, and I feel that the reward is well worth the work, Lieutenant Drake." She suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable. And it will perhaps...not be without extreme risks. I ask that you please be careful."

"All cases have their dangers." I shrugged.

"I will say it thusly then..." Celestia said gravely. "Please use every ounce of caution...I cannot spare you, lieutenant." I sighed and took another drink of my coffee.

"I will take Rainbow Dash and Budder with me then." I said. "They're always good for backup." I gave a small smile to my marefriend and my sister.

"Are you certain it is a wise decision to bring young Budder?" The princess inquired.

"She's been a huge help on quite a few cases." I replied. "I was under the belief that you were aware of her detecting abilities and her maturity..."

"I am indeed." Celestia answered. She looked at Budder with a warm smile. "And I am quite proud of her for all of the aid she has given you, as well as for her intelligence and her spirit." Budder grinned bashfully, and Celestia turned back to me. "I just feel a great measure of concern over this matter." She nodded. "But I leave it all to you. It is now in your capable hooves."

"Consider it done, Your Highness."

"Very well. I must return to Canterlot and to my royal duties. Please send me word of your progress." The princess walked to the door, and stopped. "And Drake?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"If you do find that there is dark magic involved, do not intervene. Alert me at once, and I shall take care of it myself. You will still receive your payment for your consultation, but...please, do not put your lives in danger."

"Oh...okay, Your Highness." I answered. With that, Celestia left, and we three sat in silence a moment.

"You okay Drake?" Dashie finally asked.

"Mmm...yeah, I'm alright...it's just strange...really strange, don't you think?"

"Yeah, a little." Dash agreed.

"Well...you guys in?"

"You know it!" Dash answered.

"Spooky old house?" Budder asked. She grinned. "Whatchu think?"

 _So the Drake family has a new case. And if this one sounds like it's gonna be a bit dark and mysterious, that's because I promise you it will! I'm sure all of the loyal Drake fans out there are gonna like this one. I'll try to have the next chapter up in a day or two. It's Drake and Budder time here, so as usual, don't expect me to get much writing done. So until next chapter, thanks for reading, everypony!_


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

 _Hey everypony! Sorry for the delay in getting chapter two up. I know a lot of you have been waiting for it for a while. It's been a week, and had meant to have this up DAYS ago. That's what happens when you combine laziness and normal family stuff. Heheh. But I finally managed to get it posted, and I hope you all like it. As I said, this story is quite unlike any of the other Drake stories. Please review, my loyal readers._

We stood in the front yard of the huge mansion as the sun hung low in the sky. The trip to the house had taken longer than I had thought it would, and now at nearly four in the evening, we were getting our first look at the strange old house that had become such a terror to Princess Celestia. It was larger than I had expected it to be. It was an old, classic part brick, part wood-sided structure built about in the style of all of the old houses a hundred and fifty years ago. It stood over three stories high, and the building itself took up over a half an acre.

"The pony that built this place must've had enough money to burn a wet manticore..." I commented. "Just look at it. Who even _builds_ this kind of monstrosity?"

"Somepony trying to show off and look cool?" Dashie answered. I slowly turned my gaze to her and gave her an incredulous look. She grinned, realizing what she'd just said.

"I...I kinda like it..." My sister said, looking at the house like a patron at an art museum studying a painting. "It's a big, old, creepy house...it's kinda cool."

"Well, it's old and creepy alright." Dash stated.

"Okay guys, we're burning daylight." I interjected. "Let's get started."

"Drake, how _are_ we gonna do this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Heh. Easily enough, if everything goes right." I answered. "There's definitely something going on in this place, and I'm sure it ain't ghosts."

"Awww..." Budder whined.

"AHEM."

"Sorry bub." She smiled.

"Anyway, as I was saying, if there's a pack of criminals using this place as a smuggler's cove or a base of operations, we could be walking into a snake's den. Given how many ponies disappeared at once, I'd say there may be up to a dozen criminals in there." I looked over my family's weaponry. Dash had a long stiletto dagger strapped to each hind leg, and my sister had a wooden practice sword tucked into a belt. One look, and any badpony was sure to underestimate Budder. Their loss. I readjusted my sabre belt and took a deep breath.

"Okay." I said. "We'll go in, and keep together. We encounter the enemy, you two know what to do."

"Yep!" Dash agreed. "Watch you take out ten ponies at once, and catch the other two when they try to run."

"Uh-huh..." I deadpanned. "At least you got the gist of it. Just back me up. I know you two will make me proud." Dash and Budder smiled. "And for Celestia's sake, be careful, okay?"

"Okay." Dash nodded.

"I promise." My sister whispered.

"Alright..." I sighed. "Follow me." We slowly walked up the steps, onto the wide, columned porch. I stepped to the large wooden door and paused. "Okay...ready? One..." I grasped the doorknob and slowly turned it. "Two..." I pulled back, ready to plow full-bore into the house. "Three!" We barged into the front room of the house, weapons drawn. The huge room was empty, save for an overstuffed sofa and a couple of tables. Preliminary scan: Room clear.

"Clear!" I called out. "Flank left, clear that room. I'm moving right!"

"Clear!" Dashie called.

"All empty!" Budder added.

"Hall clear!" I stated. "Up the stairs, lessgo!" I charged up the stairway, followed closely by Dash and Budder. "Military police!" I called. "Come out and surrender at once!" We made it to the second floor. "We know you're in here, and we got you outponied, outnumbered and outclassed! We got the house surrounded!" I bliuffed. "Come out and give up! Throw down your weapons and surrender, or it's gonna be bad!" There was no answer from anywhere in the house. "Final warning scumbags!" Still no answer. A galloped to the first door I saw in the second-floor hall, and kicked it open. The room was empty.

"Drake?" Dash said. I moved to the second door and threw it open. This room was empty too.

"I know somepny's in here!" I hollered.

"Drake." Dash stated. I ran to the third door and kicked it open. "Drake!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled back. "Oh...damnit...sorry Dashie." I said softly. "I didn't mean that. What is it?"

"The house is empty." She said.

"We haven't even..."

"There's nopony here." She decisively stated. I sighed and looked around.

"No...that's not...we...ugh, you're right." I admitted. "No hoofprints in the dust on the floor here, and no crates of stolen or illegal merchandise...I was so sure of my theory too." I groused. "I mean, to take out so many construction ponies...that would have taken a bunch of criminals, right?"

"Or an evil ghost!" Budder chimed in.

"Okay, sis...I'm not really ready to accept a supernatural explanation for a crime." I stated dryly.

"What about magic?" Dashie asked. "Like Princess Celestia warned us about?"

"I thought about that." I replied. "We'd be dealing with a really powerful unicorn, if not an alicorn. 'Course...I'm not the master of magical knowledge or anything."

"Master of...oh Drake..." Dash groaned, shaking her head with a grin. "Man, just _saying_ that proves you're not." She chuckled.

"Shup." I grinned. "It's hard enough just being master of everything else."

"Heh. In your dreams, sweetheart." Dash commented. "So, what do ya wanna do now?"

"Eh...let's go ahead and clear the rest of this heap." I replied. "Don't think anypony's home, but we'd might as well check. If we're getting paid to walk around an old empty house, let's at least trot all over it." I looked around the corridor. "Okay, let's just..."

I was interrupted by a loud slam that made us all jump. I galloped to the staircase, Dash and Budder behind me. We ran down the stairs and back into the large front room. I quickly looked around to see that the room was still empty. The noise had come from in here somewhere. I looked around again. The front door was closed. That had undoubtedly been the loud bang we had heard.

"If there's nopony here, then who slammed the door?" I asked out loud.

"Maybe the wind?" Dash asked.

"Wind my...pastern..." I muttered. "That thing's solid oak." I grabbed the doorknob and tried to turn it, only to find it locked. I pulled hard on the door, but it wouldn't budge. I shook the knob violently, and tried to wrench it into turning, but the old brass fixture seemed to be as solid as the door itself.

"Bub?" Budder asked nervously.

"S'alright...the diir's just stuck." I explained. "These old houses...nothing works right, heheh." I walked across the room and picked up a heavy brass candlestick. "This should do the trick, heheheh." I lauched the projectile at one of the huge windows. It struck the glass with a dull thunk, and fell to the floor. "The hell?" I muttered in confusion.

"Try THIS!"Dash called, barely giving me time to duck before she hurled a chair full-force into the window. We stared in morbid fascination as the chair flew to pieces with a splintering crack, the glass remaining as solid as ever.

"H...HOW?!" My sister gasped.

"I'm seriously not liking this, Drake." Dashie said nervously.

"It's..." I began, trying to rationalize our situation at all cost. "It's alright guys. These windows...they're probably just made of really thick glass. Yeah, that's what it is..."

"Drake!" My marefriend scolded. "Like it or not, there's something seriously jacked up about this house!" Budder whimpered and her head drooped.

"Let's not overreact now..." I advised. "We have to keep our cool. Try the other windows." Dash and Budder immediately ran to two other windows in the large room, and began trying to pry them open, to no avail. I again tried to open the door, pulling on the knob, ramming into the heavy door, but it still wouldn't budge. I heard a loud pounding, and turned to see Dashie beating on a window frantically. I hurried to her, and tried to calm my marefriend down.

"Dashie..." I said calmly. "Dashie, stop...you'll hurt yourself."

"Drake..." She replied in a fearful tone. "There's like...no way out of here. Were trapped in here!"

"Bubbyyyyyy..." Budder whined, pushing up close against me.

"Guys...I..." I stammered. "This can't..." I didn't know what to say. None of this made any sense. There had to be some sort of magic at work here. I understood little about powerful magic, and spekks, except that they could only be done by expert unicorns and alicorns. Being an earth pony, I'd never bothered to learn the finer points of magic. My old academy rival, Shining...that high-bred unicorn...he majored in combat magic. What I wouldn't have given to to have that snooty old pretty-boy here now...

"What do we do, Drake?" Dashie asked. She moved close to me and gulped loudly. I gathered my thoughts.

"Okay..." I finally said. "First, we need to find a way out of this house. Somepony's working some magic hoodoo here, and I'm gonna let the princess handle _that_. But for us...magic spells have to be like everything else, right? They gotta have a weak spot. We just have to find it."

"O...okay..." Dash nodded, trying to calm down and conquer her own fears. Suddenly, from seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time, the house groaned. It was a drawn-out creaking, like wood straining. Budder yelped and cowered against me, while Dash clenched her teeth, her magenta eyes wide with fear. The groan subsided after a few moments, leaving the three of us standing in silence. We all looked at each other apprehensively.

"O...okay guys..." I stated, my heart admittedly beating a little faster now, "let's get outta here, huh?"


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 _Hello everypony. I'm back with chapter 3! This story almost immediately jumped right to the action, and I promise that there aren't many slow parts in the entire work. There are terrifying parts, sad parts and suspenseful parts, but few boring ones. So far, Drake has been able to handle snooty classmates, Buffalo on the warpath, psycho killers and international criminals. Will he be able to survive a haunted house? Will his family? Please review._

For half an hour, we searched the entire first floor of the house for a way out. We tried every window, every door. Budder even found the flues shut on the fireplaces. The house was sealed up tight, and somehow, through some kind of magical manipulation or intervention, the windows refused to break regardless of what we hit them with. I didn't want to admit that I may be up against something I couldn't handle.

"What the hay do we do, Drake?" Dash implored. "This old house is completely locked up tight. There really is no way out!"

"Bub...I think this house really is haunted..." Budder added, glancing around with a look of fear in her eyes. "I'm kinda...really freaked out right now..."

"Calm down..." I advised. "We have to stay calm, okay?"

"I wanna go home, bubby!" My sister whined.

"I know angel...so do I." I said softly. "We just gotta find a way out of here..."

"Drake...sweetie, there's no way out, okay?" Rainbow Dash scolded. "We've checked everywhere, you know that!"

"I know!" I exclaimed. Okay, Dashie and Budder were scared to death. If my training and combat experience had taught me anything, it was that one had to keep a level head and think calmly in a bad situation.

"Listen..." I sighed, massaging the bridge of my muzzle to help fight the migraine that was growing. "Just...listen, listen, LISTEN. We have to remain rational...we have to remain tactical..." I could not and _would_ not jump to conclusions about ghosts and devils. I had to strategize a way to keep my family calm and to find a way out of this place. Damn it all, this was giving me such a headache. " _Rational_...we have to remain _tactical_...rational..."

"Daaaash...bub's losing it again..." Budder whispered.

"I know." Dash whispered back. "Drake, I trust you. You know that. You think we should find a way outta here, we're with ya. What do you wanna do?" I looked into the questioning eyes of my marefriend a moment, then looked to my sister. They both stood silently, as if awaiting an important verdict. I sighed.

"Alright, here's what we do..." I began. "There's no way out on the ground floor, that much is obvious. I'm still not convinced that the whole house is affected. In fact, I'm still not over the idea that this whole unbreakable glass, locked door thing isn't just some trick. Could be a scare tactic, a defense system set by a criminal versed in magic, or just some...some bad Pranksgiving... _brewhaha_."

"Brew...ha ha..." Budder repeated slowly.

"Brewhaha." I stated.

"You just poured confusion in my brain." My sister said.

"Ugh...pay attention?" I groaned. Anyway, we're not getting out down here, so I say we go up."

"Up?" Dash asked. She glanced upward at the ceiling a moment. "You mean up into the rest of this creepy old place?"

"Doubtful that the windows upstairs are rigged too." I shrugged. "Got any better ideas, love?"

"Ugh...not really..." Dashie admitted. I noticed that Budder was still looking nervous.

"It'll be okay, sis." I said. "We're gonna stick together. I'll protect you...you know that, angel." She gave me a little smile.

"I know, Drake." She said with glossy eyes. It was often easy to forget that even though Budder loved adventure, and could be spoken to as an adult, she was still just a thirteen-year-old filly who could actually be scared and insecure. She always acted so confident and strong to the world, a stereotypical tomboy...but only with me and Dashie would she ever let her weaknesses show like this. It mae me feel good that she trusted me enough to bear her soul to me like that. There was no time to think on such things though. We had to find an exit.

"Alright, let's go." I stated. "Stay together, and stay frosty." I started up the stairs, with Dash and Budder following closely behind me. By now the sun had fully set, and the only light in the house came from the light of the full moon rising over the horizon. I paused, and pulled my small oil lantern from my saddle bag and lit it before we climbed to the second-floor landing. I looked to the left, the hall we had checked earlier. I handed Dash the lantern and drew my saber. We went right, down the opposite corridor. I walked in front, my saber at the ready, still thoroughly convinced that we were dealing with a rogue unicorn criminal, or something else as mundane.

"Window." Dash whispered, pointing toward the end of the hall, where pale moonlight illuminated a dusty window.

"I see it. I whispered back. "Come on." We moved quickly to the window. Wiping off the glass and looking out, I could see a section of roof below. Thank Celestia, all we'd have to do is... "Damnit!" I grunted, trying to force open the window. It was jammed shut as well. In my anger, I slugged the glass with the hoofguard of my saber, resulting in a loud bang, but the pane held, and didn't so much as crack.

"Drake?" Dash whimpered.

"Damn it all!" I shouted. "What the Hell's going on in this old garbage dump?!" I ran to the next window and pounded on the glass with my forehooves. "I know somepony's doing this!" I yelled. "And you're gonna open up these windows and let us out now!"

"Drake...dude, stop!" Dash called out. I punched the glass again.

"Alright, damnit!" I hollered. "Nopony messes with the cavalry! You want a war, you got one!" I seized the lantern from Rainbow Dash. "Let us go right bloody now, or by Luna I will torch this place like a wild Buffalo!"

"Drake!" Dash screamed.

"Bub!" Budder cried out. All of a sudden, the entire house shuddered, as if it were in an earthquake. I froze and stared at my marefriend and my sister as the house creaked and groaned eerily. A cold breeze blew down the hall, rustling our manes and leaving me wondering if this had been a natural phenomena, or something else entirely...yes, I was beginning to second-guess myself. I jumped when a door slammed loudly from somewhere on the second floor.

"Who's there?!" I charged. Another door slammed violently, then another. Dash seemed frozen in place, her jaw clamped shut, her eyes wide with fear. Budder ran to me and collapsed to the floor, curling up at my hooves, crying as doors continued to slam throughout the house. "Show yourselves!" I commanded over the noise. "Cowards! STOP SLAMMING DOORS!" I bellowed.

"We gotta get out of here!" Dash screamed.

"Uh...I...yeah, alright..." I stammered. I grabbed my sister's hoof. "Come on, it's okay...just get up, we gotta go." I panted. Budder shakily stood, and we beat a hasty retreat back toward the stairs, past doors that seemed to be flying open and closed by themselves. Instead of making it to the stairway however, we somehow ran into a solid wall.

"What the heck...how'd this get here?!" Dashie exclaimed. Budder hugged me so tightly that she could have been an appendage.

"Dunno, but by Celestia, it wasn't here before..." I replied in shock. To our left was another hall that wasn't there before either. Better than nothing. "Come on." I said, leading my family down the new corridor, deeper into the house.

 _And so ends chapter 3. Chapter 4 will be up either tonight or tomorrow, depending on whether or not I can get it typed out, so keep checking back. What do you think, my loyal readers? Chilling yet? Don't worry, things get better...or worse, depending on how you look at it. Until the next chapter, thanks for reading, everypony._


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

 _Two chapters in one day...I need to keep this up! I hope everypony out there is enjoying this little tale. Not much to say about this chapter, so here it is, submitted for your approval. Enjoy!_

We raced down the hall and up a stairway. Finding ourselves in yet another long hall, we ran for a large bay window overlooking the courtyard at the back of the house. Unable to break the glass, we charged through a wide door and into a nearby room. I threw the door shut against whatever...thing was messing with us, and sat down against it, breathing heavily. My heart pounded as the adrenaline fueled by the mystery of what was going on pumped through me. My sister slumped down beside me.

"Holy freaking crap, bub..." She panted. "What _was_ that?"

"Magic...ghosts...I don't even _know_ anymore." I said defeatedly.

"We can beat it though, right?" Dash asked. "I mean, we've been in some pretty bad spots before."

"I've never seen anything like this." I gloomed. "I ain't never even _heard_ of anything like this..." Budder whimpered and hugged me. I held my little sister as I looked up at Dashie and sighed. "Alright...where are we?" Dash looked around the room.

"Kay...so there's a billiard table...couple racks of sticks...and a really ugly picture of dogs playing cards..."

"Billiard room...pretentious jackass had his own private pool hall. Probably had a bar in this house too. Why couldn't I have found _that_?!"

"No drinking." Budder whined, her face buried in my shoulder.

"I know, angel..." I replied glumly. "Ugh...alright...first of, we need to gather our thoughts for a minute. Dashie, you're right, we can beat this, we just need to..."

"OW!" Dash cried out. "Wha..." She looked down at the yellow and white billiard ball on the floor. "Drake, I think this ball just hit me!"

"BUB!" Budder yelped, pulling me toward her quickly just as a green billiard ball smacked the door where my head had been. Dashie dove to the floor as another heavy ball flew past her, hitting the wall with a bang, leaving an indentation in the wood.

"MOVE!" I yelled, throwing open the door. We evacuated the room as pool balls began flying through the air like deadly spherical missiles, all aimed at us. Out in the hall again, we began running. Not an organized fallback either, this was a full-on rout.

"Sis! Dash!" I called as I ran. "Keep moving! Stay together!"

"What are we doing?!" Budder called.

"Running!" I yelled back as we started up another, shorter flight of stairs, and down another hall.

"Stop!" Dashie commanded. I came to a full halt, Budder plowing right into me, and almost knocking me over.

"What? What is it, Dashie?" I asked, taking in our new surroundings. Dash stood down the hall, staring me down.

"Running? Running, Drake?" Dash asked incredulously. "What is it you always say about running?"

"I know...running ain't a plan, running's what you do when a plan fails...I know..."

"Drake?"

"I don't _have_ a plan, okay Dash?! I don't know what to do! I can fight anypony or anything you put in front of me except...damned...poltergeists or whatever!" I let out a frustrated roar. "That help, sis? I DO think it's ghosts! Ghosts for Celestia's sake!"

"No. That doesn't help..." Budder said timidly. I sighed.

"Dashie..." I began. Suddenly a complete wall slid from nowhere, blocking the hall between us and Rainbow Dash. "NO!" I cried out, galloping into the wall full-bore. Nope, not an illusion...solid wall. Pain. I shook it off and began beating on the wall. "Dashie! Dash! I'll get you out! I'll...I'll..." I froze as the house groaned loudly. I slowly turned to see my sister standing where I had left her, looking at me with pure terror in her blue-gray eyes. A second later, and another wall slid between me and my sister.

What was happening? My mind raced and my heart pounded in my chest. Budder...Dash...I had to find them...I had to save them. Somehow. A hall opened up in the wall, and trembling, I began to canter down the passageway in search of my family. Very few things had ever terrorized me throughout my entire life. This house was now one of them. Whoever or whatever was doing this could congratulate themselves right before I took them apart...they messed with Budder and Dash. They had me scared.

 _Things don't bode well for Drake and company, do they? The house isn't finished yet, nor is the story. I'll try to have chapter five up late tonight, or tomorrow afternoon maybe. Please send me reviews, loyal readers. Until next chapter, thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

 _Hey everypony. I'm back with chapter 5. This one, and the next two are NOT among my favorite chapters in this story. This is where it starts getting kind of dark. I don't have much to say except that I hope you like, and please review. Well, here it is..._

"Dashie! Sis!" I called as I slowly walked down the dim hall. The sound of my hooves clacked against the hardwood floor, the sound reverberating off of the peeling, cracked walls of the old house. My marefriend and my little sister were lost somewhere in this evil old house, with Celestia knows what happening to them. My heart pounded as I made my way down the corridor, in search of my missing family. I had to find them, and fast.

I rounded a corner, and peered down the dim passage, which was lit only by the light of the full moon shining through the dingy windows. I felt myself begin to shake. How could I have allowed the two ponies I loved the most to get lost in here? I had to save them. I had to...

"Budder?!" Dashie?!" I called down the hall. "Can you hear me?" I was met only by silence and the fear that plagued my mind. Then suddenly the house let out a groan, a low rumble of strained wood and stone that no house should ever make. A cold breeze blew over me. I instinctively shut my eyes against the wind as I felt it move over my body, barely rustling my mane. As I cautiously opened my eyes, I heard a noise in a nearby room, a light hoof-fall on the wooden floor. Even after all of the horrors I had seen in my life and in thins house so for, I was truly scared. I eased my saber from its scabbard and taking a deep breath, moving slowly to the door. I slowly pushed it open and peered into the room. My eyes grew wide as I saw the figure that was staring back at me.

"Sis?" I gasped. She looked back at me in silence a moment.

"Oh...hey Drake." Budder said flatly.

"Where have you been?" I asked in relief. "I've been really worried, angel..." I trotted over and nuzzled her. Strangely, my sister didn't return the affectionate gesture.

"I know." Budder said with a shrug. "You always worry, don't you?" Something about her tone concerned me.

"Are you okay?" I asked, staring into her blue-gray eyes questioningly.

"Eh...what's it matter?" She replied nonchalantly.

"Budder..."

"I don't need you always worrying about me." She stated, looking away.

"But..."

"We just hold you together, don't we?" She asked seriously. "Me and Dash? That's why you're always so clingy, ain't it bub?" Her words cut deep into me. I couldn't believe my little sister was acting this way.

"Listen...Budder..."

"No Drake, you listen." She replied. "For once, you listen. I'm not the glue or whatever that holds you together. I don't _want_ to be, okay? I mean..." She sighed. "You're always plopping down beside me and sayin' 'Hey sis, whatcha doin?', and asking me if I'm okay and what I want to do. You're always trying to be a part of everything I do. Jeez, you're such a stalker sometimes."

"But...I love you, sis..."

"You love having somepony around you can protect and take care of. It's like you need me around or something. You're so insecure and lonely and sad, Drake...and you're always using _me t_ o fill that hole."

"Please...please stop..." I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. "It's not like that...I swear it..."

"It's okay, Drake." My sister said. "It'll be alright. You just need to calm down, okay? I'm thirteen years old. I don't need to be going to cursed old houses and...and dangerous missions and stuff. You know that. You're supposed to be the adult. I don't need that stuff. I don't need my brother all up in my face all the time. It's weird. Bub, I don't really need you at all. I should have friends my own age, and be going to school stuff and playing and...you know, being a foal." I felt my legs quaking beneath me. I sniffled.

"Budder...angel, if I did anything, or said anything...please..."

"Drake..." She sighed. "I'm tired of always having to worry about you, and always knowing that you're worrying about me. You know how that stresses me out? I don't need you in my life like that."

"Oh Luna..." I gasped. My head felt light. "Please...I'm sorry..."

"I wanna go back to the school. Where I can have...you know, a normal life."

"Stop...I can't..."

"What? Lose somepony else? You can. You're strong enough to get through it. It'll be alright. You've always been alone. That's what you said, right?"

"No..."

"We had fun, Drake. Really. I had a lot of fun with you guys. Thanks for that. But I'm growing up and...I needed you for like...a while, I think, but I don't anymore...so yeah..."

My mind was racing. How could somepony I loved so much say those things? I couldn't argue with anything she'd said, either. It all made too much sense...didn't it? Maybe it was all my fault. I'd tried to be good to her, but maybe I'd done too many things wrong. I knew that I knew nothing about raising a foal, and now it was obvious that I had royally screwed up. I was too clingy. Too overbearing. I had brought her _here_. Now, for all of my screwups, I was going to pay dearly. I'd messed things up yet again. Tears began pouring down my cheeks like a waterfall, then the sobs came, and I couldn't stop. I lay down on the floor, my face buried in my forelegs.

"I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..." I repeated as I cried, feeling like my heart was being ripped apart. Every time I'd ever shed a tear around my sister, she had gently wiped them away and told me it was okay...or reminded me of how awesome I was. Now, she just stood over me, like a killer lording over her broken and dying victim. "I'm so...sorry...angel."

"I can't be your angel anymore." She whispered. "Thanks for the memories."

"noooo..." I whispered.

"Bye Drake." She stated. I heard her walk out of the room, and her hoof-falls fading down the hallway. Then, there was silence, broken only by me letting out a scream that poured out from the pain that I was feeling. I collapsed, sobbing loudly in the dark room.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

 _I'm back with chapter 6, everypony. This one was a bit harder than usual for me to write, as I'm used to writing in Drake's POV. I hope I did Rainbow Dash justice by writing from her point of view. Please review and enjoy._

 **Rainbow Dash's POV, taken from her personal memoirs:**

I was running from room to room in the creepy old house, trying to find Drake and Budder. I must have searched for thirty minutes or more, throwing open doors as I went. I have to admit that I was in total panic mode now. The house was so dark in places, I couldn't see my hoof in front of my face, but I knew that I had to find them quick. All of a sudden, I heard the house groan again, then a cool breeze blew over me. Tough as I am, that scared me a bit.

"Drake? Sweetie, where are you?" I called nervously. "Oh man...oh man...where _are_ you guys?" I saw shadows moving on the walls, cast there by the moonlight shining through the windows. "Drake?" I said softly as I saw a shadowy form moving toward me. "Stay back dude...I'm warning you..."

"Scared as usual, eh love?" Drake's voice said, with his usual calm and suave tone.

"Drake?!" I called, happy to see my coltfriend. Drake stepped from the shadows and trotted right up to me with his head held high. "Oh man, I couldn't find you or...where's Budder?"

"She's fine, of course." Drake stated. "I'll always take care of _her_. Budder can pull her own weight after all." I looked into Drake's dark brown eyes. He was starting to scare me by the way he was talking.

"Drake...what's wrong?" I asked. Drake sighed.

"Dashie...always getting lost, getting into trouble, aren't you? You always act so tough, and then you freak out at the drop of a hat, and I have to come save you."

"No I don't always get into trouble!" I protested. "Why are you being so mean to me?!" He was really hurting my feelings, and I had no idea what had gotten into him.

"Shhhh...Dash...I always liked how you constantly have to inflate your own ego. Like to convince yourself that you're sooo awesome. Heheh...you'll never be as awesome as me, and you know it. That's why I love Budder more than you. She's a LOT more... _awesome_ than you'll ever be."

"Drake, stop it!" I whimpered. Yeah, whimpered. He was really hurting me bad with what he was saying. He'd never spoken this way to me, and it scared me. _Really_ scared me.

"You never were that awesome anyway. Yeah, you're a sexy little filly alright, but not awesome. Aaannnd well..."

"What's wrong with you, Drake?" I whispered. Something was up for sure. Drake would never break my heart like that.

"What's wrong with _you_ , Dash?" He shot back. "Oh, I know...it's hard to keep up and make yourself useful without your wings, ain't it?"

"Drake!" I screamed, tears in my eyes. He knew how that subject made me feel. Why was he doing this?

"True, ain't it?" He said with a smile. "Since you lost those wings, you just haven't...I dunno...had it? I guess what I mean is...gah, I'm gonna have to be brutally honest with you..."

"Stop...please stop..." I pleaded. But he continued.

"You're so useless." Drake said, his voice so mean and uncaring. "Now that you don't have your wings, you don't really aid me that much. To be honest, you pretty much don't have any use on my investigations. I just let you think you do, you know...like how I let you believe you're still pretty."

"What?! Drake! Stop...this isn't you!" I cried. I was shaking, and trying hard to hold myself together.

"Yes, it is me, Dashie. Who else would I be? I'm just being honest here." Drake said calmly. "You were so damned cute back when you were a pegasus. You were, believe me. But now...it's just so hard to find you attractive...I mean, with those stumpy little reminders of how you used to be." He said, not stopping for a second between his insults. I felt like my heart was ripping in half. "I don't even want you coming along on my cases...Hell, I find it hard to even look at you in bed, Dash."

"Am I...am I really that worthless, Drake?" I whispered, feeling like I was about to fall completely apart.

"I'm sorry Dashie, but you are." Drake answered. I broke down, and started bawling my eyes out.

""Please...please Drake...don't do this!" I cried. I looked up, hoping that this was some kind of sick, twisted prank. "This is...this is a joke...right? Oh Celestia...it's a bad dream...that's what it is...just a bad dream..."

"Heh...a bad dream?" Drake said with a small chuckle. "Try waking up every morning next to a worthless, scarred-up has been, that hangs onto you like a lost puppy. Now _that's_ a bad dream."

"I...oh...I can't..." I panted. I couldn't even catch my breath.

"You're so weak." Drake said coldly. "I hate to do this, Rainbow Dash...I really do..."

"N...no...Drake..." I gasped, trying to stop what I knew was coming next.

"Whatever we had...it's over. Bye Dash." Drake muttered. He turned and walked away. I felt dizzy, and everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

 _I'm back with another chapter, everypony. This one was really hard for me to type out, and if any of you out there are familiar with the real-life Drake and Budder, then you know why. She really doesn't like this chapter either. But I hope you do. The story gets darker yet. Please review and tell me what you think._

 **Budder's POV, Taken from her autobiography:**

I crept down the dark hallways of the run-down old house. I was nervous. Scared is more like it. The way the moonlight shined through the windows and cast eerie shadows on the wall didn't help things at all. I was lost, and I had been searching for my brother and Rainbow Dash for I didn't know how long. I called for them as I walked down a long, creepy hallway, hoping my brother was okay.

"Bub? Bubby?!" I called. "Rainbow Dash? Anypony?! Guys, come on!" I finally came to an intersection, A 'T' Junction in the hall. I looked down both corridors. I was starting to really _hate_ corridors at this point. "Buuubyyyy?" I called again, but nopony answered me. I whimpered. This was bad...really bad. I knew I had to find my brother and Dash before something awful happened.

Then...suddenly, the house let out a loud creaking sound, like the whole house had shifted or something. I yelped, scared that the old house might be falling in, and I backed up against the wall.

"Drake! Bub...where are you?!" I yelled. Like it was answering me, a cold breeze blew over me. I looked around, wondering where the heck the wind had come from. "What the crap..." I whispered. I heard a creaking sound that made me jump. The door across the hall from me had slowly opened. I was frozen where I was standing, and tears welled up in my eyes. I was a scared filly, facing Celestia knows what coming out of the dark room. Something stepped out of the room, and when I saw who it was, I suddenly felt safe again.

"Bub!" I squeaked, trotting quickly up to my big brother, who always made me feel safe and secure. He looked at me sternly, like I had done something wrong. I smiled at him. "I was getting really freaked out in here."

"What else is new?" Drake asked me.

"What?" I asked, surprised that he had said that, and not hugged me or anything.

"You're _always_ getting freaked out and whining...always whining. Ugh...you give me such a headache sometimes." My brother said, pinching the bridge of his muzzle.

"I'm...I'm sorry Drake." I said softly. There was nothing I hated worse than disappointing my brother. Whenever I knew I had done something to upset Drake, he never had to punish me...I punished myself until he snapped me out of it. "I try to be good..."

"Maybe you do, but you're never good _enough_ , are you?" Drake said, like he was deep in thought. "No matter what you do, it's never good enough. Not for you, and not for me."

"Wh...why are you doing this?" I whimpered. I started backing away from Drake. He'd never talked to me like that before, and it was hurting worse than anything I'd ever felt.

"Because, Budder...somepony has to tell you the truth." Drake said. "You're a bad foal. You act so immature sometimes, and you're lazy and not very good at...well...Heh, anything at all. Look at yourself. Most foals have their cutie mark by now. You don't because you're too lazy to be good at anything. Do you know how hard that makes things for me?" My brothers words stabbed straight into my heart. I knew I could be lazy and a goofball sometimes, but I didn't know I was being bad, or making Drake mad at me.

"Bub...I can be good. I promise I will...I..."

"You and your promises..." Drake interrupted. "I promise...I promise...promises don't mean Jack in this world. Let me tell you about the _real_ world, little girl. It's cold, and evil, and bad things happen all the time. And all there really is...is you. Nopony's gonna help you and hold your hoof like you want all the damned time. Nopony can be trusted. You're alone."

"But...but..." I was shaking, and tears were streaming down my cheeks. "We're a family..."

"Huh. You're not my family." My brother said coldly. "I just felt sorry for you and took you in. I just have to raise you and feed you and all that stuff you don't appreciate, until you're old enough for me to kick you out. And I tell you...you don't make raising you easy. Truth is...Dashie is my family. And you keep taking away my valuable time with her. Your family is dead, Budder. Dead and gone."

"BUBBY, STOP!" I screamed. I couldn't take it anymore. The only family I had, the only pony in the world I trusted and was really close to was hurting me, and I couldn't take it. My legs felt like jelly, and I fell down on the floor at Drake's hooves. I curled up in a ball and started crying.

"It's your fault they're dead." My brother said hatefully. "If you hadn't been such a little brat, they wouldn't have had to get away from you. They wouldn't have taken that vacation, and so if it wasn't for you, our parents would still be around!" I started shaking, and I couldn't stop crying. My heart had never been broken like this. I thought my brother loved me. I thought I was his world.

"You're a rotten little brat, and you've done nothing but cause Dashie and me stress, and take all my money." Drake said in a low voice.

"I'll...I'll be good...I'll be gooooood!" Is all I could get out.

"Stop crying you little baby." He said back. "And you know what? You couldn't be good if you tried. You're nothing but a disappointment to me. I guess I have no choice. I'm putting you back in that school soon as I can."

"NO DON'T!" I choked out. I couldn't go back to that place.

"Oh grow up!" Drake growled. "Huh. If you ever do grow up...whatever, kid...stay here and bawl all over the place like a baby. I'll come and get you when I'm ready to go." He paused a moment and sighed. "You know, I hoped you could actually turn out to be really great, being my blood and all. You let me down, Budder." That was all I could take. My heart felt like it had split in half.

"Please...please..." I begged, barely able to breathe. I looked up at my big brother, my best friend, my role model and the only pony who had ever been a father-figure to me through the tears in my eyes. He was rejecting me. He didn't love me, and he was throwing me away like the garbage I was. Why couldn't I have been a better foal? Why did I always have to mess things up? If only I had tried harder to make him proud of me...

"Selfish little brat..." Drake sighed. "You'll never change. Bye Budder." He turned, and started walking away, down the hall, ripping my heart out and taking it with him. I let my head drop into my forelegs and cried. I just wanted to lay there and die.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

 _Whoo...I'm finally back, everypony. I would have had this one up sooner, but switching back and forth from POV to POV is kinda taxing, and I want to do it right. Hopefully I am, and this is turning out to be a good story in the eyes of all my readers. The chapters will get longer again, after these scenes, so don't think I'm just cheaping out on you. Heheheh. So anyway, here is chapter 8, submitted for your approval. Enjoy, and please review._

 **Rainbow Dash's POV, Taken from her personal memoirs:**

I finally stood up, shaking from everything that had happened. I sniffed, and tried to put myself back together. I felt like my whole world had just ended...explosively, and my heart was in a bazillion pieces. Drake had dumped me. He had said the meanest, most hateful things to me he had ever said, then dumped me. I felt tears rising up again, and pushed them back down. I would deal with my pain later. I had to be strong, and find a way out of this house.

"Okay...I gotta get out of here..." I said to myself. I sighed. "I wish Twilight and the girls were here..."

I began walking through the dark mansion, down one long hall, then another. I couldn't tell if I was passing by the same place, walking in circles or what. Nothing seemed to be the same, or in the same place twice. It was like I was in some kind of maze that kept changing as I walked, and I was getting frustrated with it. It was one thing to be lost in the old house, but the house was working against me, making me feel even more lost and confused.

Making my way down a short hallway, I heard a thump behind me. I spun around quickly, but there was nothing there. But knowing this house, I couldn't be sure of that. I backed up slowly, keeping my eyes on the shadowy hall, until I bumped into something solid, and almost screamed. I turned around, and nearly jumped when I saw a pony standing there, looking back at me. I calmed down when I saw that was just my reflection in a big picture window. Angry, I pulled back and punched the glass as hard as I could. The window rattled in its frame, but didn't so much as crack.

"Let me out of here!" I yelled. I started hitting the glass repeatedly, pounding on it with my forehooves. The glass didn't give. I finally turned around and bucked the glass as hard as I could. I felt pain shoot up my right hind leg, and let out a cry. The glass still hadn't budged. I started to kick it again, but stopped when I heard a voice.

"Daaaaash!" A scared voice called out. I froze and listened. "Dashiiiieeee!" It called again. I recognized that voice. It was Budder, and she sounded scared or hurt.

"Budder." I gasped. I took off in a gallop down the hall, limping from the pain in my leg, racing toward the direction the voice had come from. "Budder?!"

"Dashie! Please help meeee!" Budder's voice called to me. I turned a corner, and there she was, the normally brave and happy foal, laying curled up on the floor. She was shaking, and looked more scared than I'd ever seen her. She looked up at me, and I could see that she had been crying pretty hard. "Dash..." She whispered.

"Budder...hey, what the hay happened?! Are you okay?" I asked, really worried about the poor foal, who was like a little sister to me. I sat down beside her and put a foreleg around her.

""No." Budder squeaked, and then hugged me tightly. "I'm _not_ okay!" She started crying into my shoulder.

"What happened, Budder?" I asked, trying to calm her down.

"It was...It was Drake..." She whimpered. "He...he doesn't love me anymore!" She cried.

"Oh man...what did he do?" I asked, tears starting to fill up my eyes again.

"He...he said I was a bad foal, and...and...a brat, and that I had disappointed him, and he didn't love meeeee!" She started bawling, and I hugged her close to me.

"Shhhh...it's okay, Budder...just breathe...I'm here..." I whispered. How could Drake do this? He treated Budder like a princess. Those two were inseparable. He loved her. He loved both of us... "Wait...Budder..." I said, "I don't think that was really Drake."

"Wha...what do you mean?" She asked.

"I saw Drake too. He said...he said mean things to me too, but I don't think it was really him...or something was controlling him or something." It was the only thing I could think of that made sense.

"You really think so?" Budder said.

"Yeah, I think so...it was almost like he was...like a changeling or something." I replied. I let out a sigh. "Come on, we gotta find Drake...the real Drake, and get outta here. There's like...something seriously wrong with this house." I stood, and helped Budder up. "Ow!" I complained, putting too much weight on the leg I'd hurt trying to kick through the window.

"What's wrong?" Budder asked, looking worried.

"Oh...no big, I just kinda hurt my leg a while ago. It's alright though. Let's go. And don't worry. You're with me now, and we're getting out of here."

"O...okay..." Budder said nervously. We started walking down the hall, which looked like it ran the whole length of the huge old house. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched at every single step by something I couldn't see. The house itself would let out a weird groan or creak every now and again, almost like it was alive. Budder was walking beside me, pressed up against my side as we made our way down the dim hallway. We both stopped when we heard a metallic clang from a room nearby. We looked at each other a moment.

"We...we gotta see what that was..." I whispered, trying not to sound scared to death for Budder's sake. I crept up to the door quietly, and looked back to see Budder right there behind me. I took a deep breath and exhaled, working up the courage to open the door. "Okay...let's do this..." I said quietly. I pushed open the door, letting the moonlight in the hall light up the room a little bit. Inside, I saw a familiar white stallion sitting in the floor with his back to us. He was crying really hard, and beside him was a cavalry sword, with a red liquid coating part of the blade. I let out a whimper, now completely scared out of my mind. Drake was hurt!


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

 _Hey everypony. I'm back with chapter 9. This story is pretty dark, isn't it? Well, I warned you, didn't I? Heheh. I hope you are all liking this installment. Please review, and let me know what you think. Warning to readers: This chapter contains attempted suicide and blood. More sensitive viewers may not be comfortable with this one._

I couldn't bear it. The words my sister had said to me continued to rip my heart to pieces as I lay crying on the floor in the dark room. Maybe she was right. Dashie and Budder completed me. I was never happy unless they were beside me. All of my dreams were tied to them. Was that selfish? Had I just been selfish all of this time, using my sister and Dashie to fill a hole in my pathetic life? That's what Budder had said.

"I'm so...sorry..." I whispered. I had been using them, feeding off of them like a damned leech to get their attention and love, just to fill the void in my own heart. How could I have done this to them? What did that make me? I loved them. Without my family, I was nothing, I was..."

My mind and my emotions suddenly regressed to a time before Budder...long before Dashie, to the time when I _knew_ that I was destined to be alone. Alone forever because of all of the mistakes I had made. Alone because of the bad pony I really was. So, it was all true...all of it was true all along...my fate...the inevitability of it. I slowly drew my saber. I held the curved blade of my constant companion in front of my face, my only option now becoming painfully clear. I was dead. I was already dead. I had died a long time ago, with my troopers at the fort, and I'd only been _pretending_ to be alive all this time. Enough.

I raised my left foreleg, and placed the edge of the blade over my wrist. This was it. I would never be able to hurt anypony ever again. Never again. I began to sob, my mind turning over all of the horrible things I had done, all of the innocent ponies hurt or dead because of me. I didn't deserve to live, and go on causing pain and death and sadness wherever I went.

"Never forever..." I whispered, and quickly drew the blade over my wrist. I let out a loud sob, not expecting the pain. I dropped my saber to the floor with a loud clang. In morbid curiosity, I looked stared at my foreleg. My wrist was pouring blood, the thick red stream running off of my leg and pooling on the planks of the wooden floor. My life was leaving my pathetic body in a claret stream of warm liquid. I watched myself bleeding out for a few moments, then began crying again.

I heard the door to the room slowly open behind me, but I didn't so much as turn, or even acknowledge the unknown presence. I didn't care anymore. About anything. For a moment, the only sound in the room was my own weak sobbing, and the steady drip-drip of my blood against the floor.

"Drake!" A voice finally cried out. The next thing I knew, Dashie was holding onto me tightly. She looked down at my foreleg. "Oh no Drake...no...what did you do?!" She gasped. "Nononono...oh man..." She said in a panicked tone.

"Dashie..." I whispered, feeling weak from the loss of blood. "Dashie...I'm so sorry..."

"Drake...don't you...don't you DARE give up on me!" She screamed.

"Bubby?!" Budder squeaked. I slowly looked to my sister as Dash clamped her hooves over my wound, trying to stop the flow of blood.

"Budder...you were right...I'm sorry for everything. You guys don't need me."

"Wh...what?!" My sister yelped. "Bubby, no! I NEED YOU!" She started shaking, and tears poured down her cheeks. "Please don't die! Please don't die..."

"Budder!" Dash called. "Go tear down that curtain and bring it to me. Hurry!" My sister nodded, and quickly left.

"I don't know what happened, Drake..." Dash whispered. "...or what the hat you saw or heard, but it's gonna be okay now. Okay?" I heard Budder return, and heard ripping sounds. My vision was fading, and felt like I just wanted to go to sleep.

"No...it won't." I muttered. I felt something being wrapped around my wrist. I couldn't even keep my eyes open anymore.

"No...NO!" I heard Dash yelling. I felt myself being shaken. "You can't leave us, Drake." She said, her voice breaking emotionally. I felt myself being lowered to the floor, and two sets of forelegs being wrapped around me. "You're all we have, don't you know that?"

"I love you, bubby..." My sister wept. "Please don't leave me like this...please..."

'Well...this is odd...' I thought, drifting away into unconsciousness. 'I thought you hated me, angel...confused...why...I can't...so this is what it's like to die...it's funny...'


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

 _I'm back everypony. This is a fairly short chapter, and it kind of wraps up the doppelganger part of the story, so I decided to post it today too. Don't think the story nor the house is quite finished yet though. Trust me, it's FAR from over for the trio. I hope you enjoy chapter 10. Please review and tell me what you think. Well, enough jibber-jabber. Here it is:_

I awoke, feeling very weak and tired. Normally, waking up was fairly easy to me, but now it took me what seemed like several minutes just to get it all together enough to even open my eyes. I began to remember everything that had happened...where I was...what I'd done. I felt bad. Once my mind cleared enough, I became aware of somepony holding onto me. I tried to sit up, and grunted, dropping back down.

"Bub?" My sister gasped. She was looking down on me, worry on her face. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I...I think so..." I replied. I broke eye contact with her. "You?"

"Not unless you are." She said softly.

"Nguh..." Dashie groaned, waking up beside me. I turned to her as she opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times, and quickly stood up. "Drake!"

"Heh...I've been getting that a lot lately..." I muttered. Dashie stared at me a moment.

"You scared us half to death, Drake!" Dash said accusingly. "Why the buck did you do that?! Huh?!" My eyes darted wildly as I tried to find a way not to answer her question. "Drake, why would you do that to us?!" I finally let out a sigh.

"When I was lost..." I began. I rolled over so I wouldn't have to look at Dash and Budder as I spoke. I tried to find the words. "I found...Budder. She told me that...you two...I can't." I said.

"Go on..." Dash said, sympathetically.

"She said that...that I only keep you guys around because...cause you hold me together...and that I use both of you...because I was so pathetic. She said she...she didn't want me in her life anymore..."

"NO!" Budder screamed. "No I DIDN'T! Bubby, I...I could NEVER say those things to you!" I could hear her crying again.

"I...I know you wouldn't..." I muttered. "I know that..."

"Just like...you'd never tell me that you were disappointed in me...and I'm a bad foal...and you don't love me?" Budder asked in a pained voice.

"What?! No!" Budder, I love you! You could never disappoint me." I answered, shocked by what she had said.

"Really?" Budder squeaked.

"You're my little sis...you're like...like a daughter to me too. I love you, and I could NEVER feel that way about you, angel...why would you even _think_ something like that?" I asked. My sister looked down.

"I...I saw you...or somepony that looked like you...I dunno..." She muttered sadly. It all started coming together for me.

"It wasn't me...I promise." I said. "And the pony I saw wasn't you. I get that now. It was this house..." I embraced my sister, and hugged her tightly. I looked at Rainbow Dash, who was looking away slightly, tears in her magenta eyes. "Dashie? Sweetheart?"

"Yeah." She whispered, still averting her eyes.

You saw a fake pony too...didn't you?" She sniffed. There was a moment of silence, and my marefriend finally spoke again. "...you."

"Dashie..." I whispered. I forced myself to stand, my sister helping me up, and keeping me steady as I stood there, looking at my marefriend. "...what did it say to you?" Dash looked me in the eyes, and I saw in hers raw pain and sadness. She twisted her face, obviously trying to hold it together, trying to keep from breaking down.

"Nothing..." She choked out. "It wasn't you..."

"No...it wasn't..." Is all I could say.

"Then it don't matter, does it?" She said, her voice breaking.

"Dash..."

"No...I won't..." She breathed. I stood there in silence a moment.

"Okay." I finally said gently. I could tell that whatever the pseudo-me had said to her had been bad. It had nearly destroyed my marefriend, that much was obvious. This damned old house had hurt Dashie and Budder...torturing them using me...now I really wanted to burn the place to the ground.

 _Well, Drake and his family are all reunited again. For now, at least. What else does the house have in store for them? Can they escape? And what IS the deal with that particular piece of real estate? I'll try to have Chapter 11 up either tonight or tomorrow, depending on what's going on. Don't know if Budder will be here or not in the next couple days. If so, it may be a few days before I get the next chapter up. So until next chapter everypony, thanks for reading!_


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

 _Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I know it's been over a week now, and you were all probably wondering if I'd just up and vanished, leaving my story incomplete. Well, in truth, after writing almost every single day for so long on these Drake stories, I wanted to take a short break. On top of that, I've practically ruined my knee, so I've been incapacitated for a couple days. In retrospect, if I'd just stuck to writing, I probably wouldn't have injured myself. That's what I get for going on vacation, eh? Heheheh. Anyway, here's chapter 11, fresh off the press, and ready to be enjoyed by you, my loyal readers._

We sat in the dimly lit room for a good hour, wondering what our next move should be, strategizing how to escape from the dark illusions that were playing on our deepest, most powerful emotions. Or maybe the three of us were just afraid to move from where we sat for an hour, and that was out only excuse for not leaving the room. Finally, we couldn't take it anymore. We had to find a way out before the house tried something else. So far, the house had locked us in, and used clones of us to work on our minds. I had no idea if it could actually do us physical harm or not, and with Dash and Budder's safety on the line, I didn't want to find out.

"Alright guys..." I said, standing. I felt a little woozy for a moment. I had eaten both of the chocolate bars in my saddlebags, along with the apple I had brought, and I felt worlds better, if not still a little weak from loosing so much blood. "Let's get out of here, huh?"

"I'm for that." Dash commented. "You sure you're up for it?"

"Eh...been worse, done more." I replied glumly. "How's your leg?" Dashie stood and stretched her leg tenderly.

"I can walk." She replied. "No problem."

"I don't like it when you guys are hurt..." My sister muttered sadly. I held out my left foreleg and looked at it, feeling guilty for what I'd done. Budder took it and kissed my wrist. "Don't you do that again." She commanded.

"I won't." I said in a low voice.

"Ever." She added. I nodded solemnly.

"Let's go..." I said. The house let out another rumbling groan, and I froze, wondering what it was up to now. Every time the house had made a noise, it had thrown something else at us. Suddenly, the entire floor of the room we were in shifted, pitching upward like a sinking ship. My sister dropped down and let herself slid to the back wall. I tried to keep my balance, my hooves sliding on the floorboards as I coasted into the far wall with a loud thud. Dashie lost her balance, and tumbled against the wall, and let out a pained yelp.

"OH BUCK IT! MY LEG!" She gasped. The floor rolled a bit more, then settled back level as if nothing had happened. I unsteadily got to my hooves and ran to my marefriend. She was laying on her back, holding onto her right hindleg and biting her lower lip as she rolled back and forth, her eyes clamped shut.

"Dashie...sweetheart..." I exclaimed.

"Nuh...I'm good..." She groaned.

"Dashie...let me see it." I stated. She jerked away.

"I'm fine...OH CELESTIA!" She cried out."

"Dash!"

"For the love of...the same leg..." She complained. I knelt down and took the injured leg gently in my hooves and poked the ankle lightly. Dash let out a hiss.

"Can you move it?" I asked. She wiggled her hoof a bit, then whimpered. Budder sat down beside Dash and started petting her mane softly.

"It's not broke." I said. Her ankle was swelling. "It's sprained though...pretty bad too, love."

"Awwww..." She groused, laying back on the floor. "Dude...no...I can't afford a sprained ankle right now!"

"Well, you have one sweetheart..." I advised.

"We still gotta...ow...gotta get out of here though." My marefriend stated.

"I know..." I mumbled. "Well...maybe I can go find a way out, and then come back and get you two..."

"I'm not leaving you alone in here!" My sister protested.

"Yeah Drake!" Dash added. "No way am I gonna let you wander around this place by yourself." She started to stand, but I forced her to lay back.

"No Dashie...you stay here with the saddlebags." I said. "I hate to say it...but your leg's hurt pretty bad, and I don't wanna see you hurt it even worse." I sighed. "Damnit."

"Bub? What do we do?" Budder asked.

"Well...it's about four, five hours until daylight still..." I answered. "Don't ghosts and witches and stuff loose their power during the day...or when it's light or something like that?"

"I dunno..." My sister answered with a shrug.

"You're the one who's always reading ghost stories." I reminded her. "That kind of makes you the expert here, sis. So do ghosts and demons and boogers loose their power during the day or not?"

"Boogers?"

"Sis."

"I guess. That's what a lot of the stories say and stuff."

"Alright...well if that's all we have to go off of, that's gonna have to work." I said. I thought for a moment. "okay, well I think we need to find someplace to hole up in here where we have an open area and better light. That way we can see what's coming. We can wait it out 'till daylight, and maybe when the ghosts or whatever go wherever ghosts go during the day, we can get the Hell out of here."

"Works for me." Dash shrugged, sitting up carefully.

"Well, it's not the best plan I ever had," I stated. "But hiding in a room somewhere sure beats wandering around a dark house and bumping into spooks." I walked to the open door, and peered out

into the hall, making sure there were no more surprises waiting on us. The passageway was dark and silent. I hated splitting us up, but Dashie was in no condition to be trotting around on a badly sprained ankle. She looked dejected, and I knew that my marefriend wanted to forge on with everything she had, but I wasn't about to let her injure herself further...or to let the house do it.

"Alright. Dashie...stay here until you hear us call for you...and please, be alright..." I said. She slowly stood up on three legs, and I walked over and kissed her gently on the lips. "Please?"

"You know me, Drake." She answered. "It'll take more than some stupid old house to beat Rainbow Dash."

"You sure?" I pressed. She smiled and kissed me.

"Well, now that I know if I see you, or one of you two acting all weird and junk, it ain't really you. Right?"

"Something like that." I chuckled.

"Go on then, you two." Dash sighed, slumping to the floor and stretching out her leg. I handed her the torn curtain, and she started wrapping up her sprained ankle. I sighed and motioned with my head for my sister.

"Love you, Dashie." I said, turning back into the room. She stopped wrapping her leg and stared at me a moment in silence.

"I love you too, Drake. Be careful."

 _Well, there's the long-awaited chapter 11. Now that I have pretty much unlimited down time for a while now, I'm gonna be writing a little more than normal. I'll try to have chapter 12 up either by tomorrow, or by tomorrow evening. It's a little more exciting than the last two have been, and you get to see the house trying to get at our heroes using new tactics. So, until next time, please send me reviews, everypony. Thanks for reading!_


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

 _Hey everypony. I'm back with chapter 12. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I promised that the house wasn't finished yet, and now you get to see it...or read it, rather. So here it is. Please send me reviews, my loyal readers._

I cautiously opened the heavy wooden door, keeping my sister behind me as I visually scanned the huge empty room for any signs of danger. My torch dimly lit the large chamber, and I could see that the room was empty. Completely empty. The room was not just clear of any hazards, but despite the size of the room, there was no furniture, no artwork, not even a rug.

"Okay..." I said. "It looks alright, sis. Let's go."

"Kay." Budder whispered back nervously. We stepped into the room, and with my torch held high, we looked around. Sure enough, the room was completely bare, save for several old torches mounted to the paneled walls.

"Well..." I whispered.

"Hey bub," Budder called. "Let's light these." She motioned to one of the torches on the wall with her own.

"Eh. That thing probably hasn't been lit in a hundred years, you know." I said. She ignored me, and started toward the torch. "It's not gonna light." I advised. My sister shrugged, smiled, and touched her torch to the one on the wall, which promptly flared up, illuminating our part of the room. My sister shot me a smug grin.

"Who awesome?" She said.

"Um..." I replied, confused. I walked over to the nearest torch, and lit it easily. "Uh...you know this doesn't make any sense, right?"

"This whole freakin' house doesn't make any sense." Budder shot back.

"No...no it does not." I said matter-of-factly as she lit another torch. "Hey Budder?"

"Yeah?" She answered, hearing the tone of my voice, and stopping and looking at me questioningly.

"This house...it's evil, I think." I said. "Not haunted,...but it's like the house itself is alive...and evil...I dunno."

"I know what you mean..." My sister whispered.

"It wants to break us." I stated. "The house, or the ghosts, or whatever this is..." I sighed and raised my bandaged hoof. "Heh...I'll admit that I haven't exactly been nonplussed by what this...Hell house has done." My sister whimpered at my comment. "It's alright, angel. We know what this place is doing now. It's not gonna beat us." Budder trotted over an nuzzled me affectionately.

"I won't let anything happen to you, bubby." Budder said.

"Heh...Isn't that what I'm supposed to be telling you?" I chuckled.

"I'm gonna light those other two torches." Budder said, pointing across the room.

"Alright. Then we'll go get Dashie, and hole up in here until dawn. I smiled and messed up Budder;s mane. "Sound like a strategy?"

"Hee." She giggled. "Yep!" Budder grinned, and started across the room to light the remaining two torches on the far wall as I walked to the door to call for Dash. Just as I reached the heavy oak door, it slammed shut. I quickly grabbed the knob and tried to wrench it into turning, but it was somehow locked. I pulled on the door, but just like the front door, it refused to budge.

"Bubbyyyy...uh...um..." I heard my sister whimper. I felt a chill in my spine. The house was at it again. I turned to see Budder standing near the far wall of the room, stuck in what looked like a puddle of glue. She was frantically trying to lift her legs, but she was stuck in place.

"Sis...hold on!" I gasped. I started toward my sister, bu a long, thin, rope-like object dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of me on the floor. The rope began squirming, and I jumped back in fear and revulsion. A snake! Why did it have to be a snake?!

"Draaaaaake!" Budder cried out. "I'm sinking! I can't...oh...help!" I looked away from the serpent, and saw that my little sister was knee-deep in the floor. She was struggling to get free, but the floor had become like quicksand, and she was being sucked in.

"I'm coming!" I called. I drew my saber, and sidestepped the snake. My ears were met by the sound of more snakes dropping to the floor now, as I made my way toward where my sister was trapped by the quicksand floor. A huge python, somehow suspended from the ceiling, suddenly whipped down at me. I let out a scream and stumbled backwards, dropping my saber in the process. I fell, and as I stood back up, I watched in horror as snakes of every shape and size surrounded me, materializing out of nothingness and slithering around me in a tangled mass of disgusting terror.

"Nonono...not that...oh crap...not thaaaaaat!" Draaaaaake!" Budder screamed. I could now see small black objects descending from the ceiling toward my sister on gossamer threads that shimmered in the firelight. Spiders...

"Budder!" I cried out. "It's not real! Don't let it win!"

"Bubbyyyyyy!" Budder sobbed, thrashing in the quicksand as the spiders began crawling on her back. She was now up to her belly in the floor, and the she couldn't escape the spiders that now swarmed her. She screamed a panicked, mortified scream. I eyed the snakes around me.

"It's not real." I said out loud. "It's...not...real." I closed my eyes tightly. It was the house. None of this was real. It was all just a deadly illusion, playing off of our fears. It wasn't going to get my sister. I wouldn't let it. "It's not REAL!" I yelled. I seized my saber and stepped out into the mass of snakes, feeling the revolting, evil things squirm under my hooves. I took another step, and felt a sharp pain in my right hindleg and yelped.

"Not real...not real..." I chanted in a whisper. I felt another snake strike, this one above my bandage. Then another sunk its fangs into my my other back leg. Then again. And again. I whimpered, and felt sweat running down my forehead, but thoughts of saving my little sister kept my body moving forward.

"Nguh...bubby..." Budder squeaked. "...hurry..." I finally made it through the tangle of snakes, and over to my sister. She had sunk up to her shoulders in the soft floor, and was covered in spiders. Her eyes and mouth were clamped shut against the arachnids, and she sobbed in fear as I reached her.

"You can't have her!" I shouted to the house. I used the blunt edge of my saber to rake most of the spiders off of her back and head. "Sis...I got you. You gotta be strong. It's not real." I assured her.

"Not...real..." She choked. I threw down my sword and shoved my forehooves down into the muck, wrapping them around her forelegs. With a grunt, I pulled with everything I had. "Not...real...just the...house." Budder quaked. I could feel the floor loosing its grip on my sister.

"It's the house!" I panted. "Fight it! Fight it, sis!"

"I'm trying..." Budder squeaked, straining to escape the floor.

"You can do it!"I stated. "You're not...afraid!"

"No...I'm...NOT!" Budder called loudly. With a loud slurp, I pulled her free from the floor, and we both fell to solid ground, panting in exhaustion.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah...you?"

"I think so..." I replied. Wait...the snakes! I stood, and frantically searched my legs for bites, but there were none. I scanned the room, but there was no sign of the battalion of snakes that had been there only moments before. I started to chuckle. My chuckles turned into guffaws, then outright laughter. My sister looked at me like I was crazy.

"We...we did it! Hahaha! We faced it down and...haha...we beat it at its own game! Heehee! What do you think about THAT, you rotten old house?! Huh?! You can't beat us!" My sister smiled, and decided to get in on it.

"Yeah! You can't scare us, we too awesome!" She called.

"Heheh. You got that right, sis." I beamed. "Watch this..." I walked over to the door. "...this door here is gonna open, because I SAID it is!" With that, I easily threw open the heavy door. "HA!" We paused as house let out a groan, this one sounding hurt and angry...as if a house could sound hurt and angry.

"Shut up, house!" Budder chided. The house rattled gently.

"Don't wanna hear it!" I said coldly. The house fell silent, and I stepped into the hall. "Dashie!" I called. Now, we could stay together in the lit room until sunrise, when maybe the house would loose some or all of its evil power. Maybe then, we could make good our escape. I stared into the long, dark hall, awaiting an answer. "Dash?! Love?" Budder moved up beside me, and we exchanged worried glances.

"DAAAAAAASH!" My sister yelled.

"This house ain't finished yet..." I growled.

"Bubby?" Budder whined nervously.

"You know...for a minute there...I actually thought we were gonna have it that easy." I commented. I sighed in frustration. "Come on, we gotta find Dashie."


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

 _Whew, back with chapter 13. Two chapters in one day again. Trying to stay off this knee until it heals is giving me time to write. Heheh. Here it is, everypony, and I hope you enjoy. It's a little short, but good nonetheless._

 **Rainbow Dash's POV, Taken from her personal memoirs.**

I was sitting in the room when I heard Drake and Budder screaming. I knew I was supposed to stay put and junk, but I started to get worried about my family. I fidgited around and waited. Anything could be happening to them, and here I was sitting in a room, twiddling my hooves. There was no more screams, but Drake still hadn't called for me. I waited a few more minutes, but I finally couldn't take it anymore. Buck it all. I had to find them.

"Alright...enough sittin' around..." I muttered. I stood slowly, and tested my sprained ankle. I felt a sharp pain shoot up through my leg. The sprain was still really tender. I still wasn't about to let it stop me, and I began limping down the hallway, in the direction Drake and Budder had gone.

"Hey guys?" I called. "Drake?" There was no answer from down the hall. I started getting nervous. What if something really bad had happened? I always looked out for my friends and family. Always being there when somepony needed me was the most important thing to me. Always had been. I began to think about how if something happened to them, if they were in danger, and I wasn't there to help them, I would never be able to forgive myself. It was really eating at me. Suddenly, the old house groaned, and I felt the floor start to shift again.

"Woah...woah..." I cried out, trying to keep my balance. The floor wobbled and pitched up, and I fell toward an open door. I tried to stop myself, grabbing for the door frame, but I ended up falling straight into the room, calling for Drake as I went. The door slammed shut behind me.

"Oh come on...what now?" I grumbled, getting to my hooves. I limped over to the door, and reached for the knob. I was about to get the heck out of the room, when I froze. A very familiar voice had called my name.

"R...Rainbow Dassshhh..." The voice said weakly. My legs started to shake, and I gulped.

"Twi?" I squeaked. I didn't want to turn around, but something inside me forced me to look. I slowly turned. When I saw what was behind me, I tried to scream, but it only came out as a groan. My stomach turned, and I felt like throwing up.

There in front of me were my friends, the rest of the original Elements of Harmony, but my mind couldn't even process what I was seeing. Fluttershy was laying on the ground, obviously dead, with one wing missing...her head twisted fully backwards. Her gentle eyes were bulging and lifeless.

Applejack was in even worse shape. Her tangled mane did nothing to cover several awful wounds, like claw marks down the side of her body, one of which had torn open her stomach. Her guts had fallen out of her body, and blood poured out of her as she lay there whimpering and twitching, kicking in pain, close to death.

Rarity was missing a leg, and her face, the one thing she was so proud of and took such good care of, had a patch of flesh torn off, showing the skull underneath. She lay in a pool of blood. I tried to let out a scream, but the sound stuck in my throat. My heart was pounding in my chest like a drum, and I was frozen in place.

Twilight was bleeding really bad from a wound in her side that went from her front shoulder to her flank, destroying her left cutie mark. One eye was swollen shut, and I could see that both of her hind legs were broken, bent at unnatural angles. My friend was mangled, but still alive, and she was crawling slowly toward me.

"Daaassshhhh..." Twilight rasped. "You...weren't there...you...left usssssss...whyyyyyyy?"

"Oh man...this isn't really happening..." I whimpered. That was all I could get out. I panted for breath and tried to fight against what I was seeing. "You're...you're not real!" I screamed. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, trying to get rid of the horrible images.

"You...weren't theeerrrrre..." Twilight's voice whined. "You...abandoned...ussss. Raaaainbowwww..." I sobbed, and opened my eyes. Twilight's broken form was right in front of me. I was paralyzed. "Why did you...let this...happen?" My friend gasped, blood streaming from the corners of the purple unicorn's mouth. "We...we trusted...yooouuuuuu..."

"I...I..." I stammered. Twi's accusing eyes drilled into me, and I clamped my eyes shut again.

"Whyyyyy?" The haunting plea of Twilight's voice whispered.

"Nguh...No..." I groaned. "This...isn't real!" I exclaimed. I opened my eyes, and faced the fake Twilight. "You're not real! You're just a nightmare! My friends are okay, and this is just a...a...BIG FAKE!" I screamed. I was now more angry than scared. "You're not real, and you can't scare me!" I cried. The images began to fade in front of my eyes, losing their color and wavering, like heat waves. "Go away! Go away...I don't believe in you!" I growled. The room suddenly filled with a bright white light for a fraction of a second, then went dark. I had to blink several times to get used to the sudden change in light. I looked around the room, but there was no trace of the scene that had been there only a few seconds before.

"You...you can't beat me...stupid old house." I whispered, trying to pull up as much bravery as I had in my body. I fumbled with the doorknob, and pulled open the door enough to stumble into the hallway. I closed the door behind me, and slumped down against the wall. I felt myself starting to shake, and tears welled up in my eyes. "Stupid old house..." I said, then started crying.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

 _Hey everypony. I'm back with chapter 14. I hope you all like this one. I told you at the beginning that this story was a bit dark. To one of my loyal readers, I know that using Dash's friends against her was a bit of a low blow, but that's how thew house operates. It uses your worst fears against you, and knows exactly how to get to you. The story is far from over, and don't worry...it gets a little more macabre before the end. Please send reviews. And enjoy the chapter._

Budder and I meandered down the dark halls, searching for Dashie. The house seemed to have shifted, changing its layout once more. It had separated us...again. The house seemed to want to get us alone as possible...to trap us individually and hammer on our minds with our worst fears. If we could stay together, I was confident that we could beat the house at its own game. If we could stay together...that was the problem.

"Dashie!" I called. The halls remained silent. My sister and I gave each other a worried glance. We continued down the hall where Rainbow Dash had been only minutes before. Or was it? With this house, it was hard to tell where you were and where you were going. I called to Dash again, but again there was no answer. The house had us separated again, and I knew that something Hellish was happening to my marefriend.

"Bub..." My sister whimpered. "What's gonna happen to Dashie?" She asked in a frightened tone, as if reading my mind. I shook all of my negative thoughts away.

"Nothing, angel..." I replied. "Dashie's gonna be...be fine. We'll find her and we're all gonna get out of this Hell house." Budder stopped walking. I turned to my sister questioningly. "What?"

"Bub..." She squeaked. She stared into my eyes. "You're lying...aren't you?"

"Budder..."

"Drake..." She sobbed, grabbing me in a hug. "I'm scared, okay? I'm really freaked out, bubby!" She cried. All I could do was hold her, and try to keep myself calm.

"I know, it's..." I couldn't even say anything to calm her. She would see right through any kind of lie I tried to tell. It was one of her gifts, and one of my weaknesses. "I'm here, sis...I'm here. And you know I'd die to protect you..."

"BUBBYYYYYY!" She squealed. "Don't even...I don't WANT you to die!"

"I know...I know..." I muttered. I just had to say 'die' didn't I? I sighed, and squeezed her in a tight hug. "I know you're scared. Budder...angel...I'm scared too. I'm scared to death, and I don't want anything to happen to you or Dashie. That's the only things that scares me this much...but I'm not gonna stop. I'm going to do everything I can to protect you...the both of you. I promise, Budder. I promise." My sister looked into my eyes, and saw the tears that had welled up in them. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"I'm sorry, Budder." I whispered. "I'm sorry I got you into this."

"Hey...I wanted to come. I want to go everywhere with you...good and bad. I would've come with you no matter what...you know that." She said softly.

"Yeah..." I nodded. I sniffed. "Thanks, sis."

"Heh." She replied, releasing me from the hug. "And I gotta take care of you, don't I?" She added, giving me a small smile.

"Touche, sis." I smiled back.

"Love you, bubby." She said.

"Love you too, sis." I returned. "Now, we gotta go find Dashie."

"Yep." She said. I nodded solemnly, and we began walking along the lengthy hall again. We rounded a corner, to find yet another dead end.

"Wha...this wasn't here before..." I muttered. "This was a hall...ugh...Shouldn't surprise me. Damnit, this house..."

"Bub..." Budder said softly. She gently placed a hoof on my shoulder. "It's okay. We can go back. We can find another way."

"Yeah." I sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." We turned and started walking back down the hall, in the direction we had just came from. I was even prouder of my little sister now. She was stepping up in ways I'd never have imagined. Here she was, coming up with ideas, and even trying to comfort me. She was growing up, and it was only a pity that it took a bad situation like this to be the catalyst. Still, I was proud.

"Oh crap!" I heard Budder cry out, following by a long, fading scream. I turned in time to see a small trapdoor in the floor of the hall slam shut.

"BUDDER!" I screamed, leaping onto the spot the floor had opened up, swallowing my sister. I pounded on the wooden planks, but to no avail. The door wouldn't open. "Budder! Sis!" I called, trying desperately to break through the floor. I finally stopped, realizing that I would never find her this way. Then...I was struck by a horrible thought: Budder and Dash were gone, and there was nothing I could do. My heart began to pound heavily in my chest.

"No..." I choked out. I tried to keep from panicking. I failed...badly. Damned old house. I fell on my back, tears streaming down my face. "NOOOOOOO!"

 _This can't bode well, can it? The house has separated the three of them again. What's going to happen now? And what happened to Budder? I will try to have the next chapter up tonight. It depends on how long my ambition holds out. So until next chapter, thanks for reading, everypony._


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

 _Hey everypony! I'm back, and I come bearing chapter 15. Sorry I couldn't get it posted sooner. It's a long one, and I turned in early last night (About 1:30) This chapter is a turning point in the story, which I'm sure you've all been waiting on. This one has it all: Creepy rooms, Illuminati ponies, naked skeletons, spell books, the works. I hope you all enjoy it. Please review._

I stood up, feeling kind of shaky, and threw a lock of mane out of my face. I shifted my weight from hoof to hoof. Nothing was broken or really hurt or anything, but I was sure I was gonna have a few bruises from falling down the hole or shaft or whatever it was. I picked up my torch and looked up into the hole I had just gotten dumped out of. The walls were smooth stone, with no cracks or anything, like the hole had been carved from solid rock.

"Well crap..." I said "I guess I'm not climbing back up this thing." I grumbled. I turned and looked down the hall. It was a wide stone corridor, and I didn't see a single door anywhere. I turned and looked down the hall behind me. It was the same, a long stone hallway, ending in a dead end, with no doors along the walls. I started breathing hard, and couldn't stop. I was starting to panick.

"Buuuub!" I called out. "Drake! DRAAAAAAAKE!" I stopped myself, and took a deep breath. I let it out slow, trying to calm down. I tried to push all the fear out of my mind. I knew if I was gonna find a way out of this, I was going to have to calm down and think it through. My brother wasn't here to protect me, and freaking out wasn't going to change that. This time, I had to get through this on my own. I was still afraid of what this house had in store for me, but something else was stronger than that fear. I wasn't about to let the house kill me. I wasn't gonna do that to Drake.

"Okay..." I sighed. "Stupid house..." I started walking slowly down the hall, looking for a doorway, a tunnel, any way out of the stone prison I was in. As I got closer to the end of the hall, I saw the strange design carved into the stone. I followed the complicated carving with my eyes by the light of my torch. They formed a large rectangle on the wall, with a huge circle inside the rectangle, with rays carved out from it, as if the circle represented the sun. In the middle of the sun carving was a triangle about two hooves in size, with a square carved inside that, and a hoof-sized circle inside that. Outside of the larger rectangle, the wall was covered with swirling shapes, and it looked like somepony had worked a really long time to decorate a random stone wall like that.

"Okay that's...kinda cool..." I said to myself. I looked around again. There were no doorways at all in this hall or room or whatever it was. I looked back at the carvings a moment. Unless...

I stared at the decorated wall for a few moments. Nopony would decorate up a random wall for no reason. It had to mean something. I put the torch in my mouth and ran my right forehoof along the edge of the rectangular design. It was almost like a seam or a crack. I took the torch, and held it close to the seam. I watched the fire flicker a little, blown by a soft breeze from somewhere. Okay, so it was a door. Doors have to have knobs. I looked the carvings over...

"Wait..." I whispered. I put a hoof on the small circle inside the design. I paused a moment, wondering what was going to happen, and pushed in hard. The stone circle gave way, and began to slide inward with a scraping sound. I heard a 'click' from inside the rock somewhere, and I pulled my hoof out of the hole just as a grinding sound came from the carving. I stepped back and watched as the big sun-circle slid out and rotated a full turn, before returning to its original position. The small circle popped back out, and for a few seconds, nothing else happened.

"Um...did I...break it?" I whispered. Just then, the entire rectangular slab began to swing open slowly, like a door. When it had fully opened, I walked up cautiously, and stuck my torch into the opening. I looked inside.

"Duuuuuude..." I said. It was a hidden room, like out of a book or something. The whole room was carved out of stone, just like the hallway and the shaft. As I stepped into the room, I saw rows of old books on shelves that were carved out of the stone walls. Strange old objects and statues, metal goblets and stones sat on the shelves too, along with stacks of old scrolls. I walked deeper into the room, my eyes on the strange carvings on the floor. I stopped dead when I saw...it.

"The crap?" I said nervously. Up ahead, leaned against a column in the center of the room, clutching a large book, the skeleton said nothing back. I stared at the remains for a long time. It was the first skeleton I had ever seen, and in this house, I was kind of afraid of it. Finally, I stepped a little closer, just a few steps, and stopped again. It still hadn't moved. I caught myself breathing hard, and my heart was beating faster. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. What would Drake do? He wouldn't be afraid of an old skeleton. I exhaled, and opened my eyes.

"Okay..." I sighed. I trotted to the skeleton, and looked upon the pile of dusty old bones. It had been a unicorn once, and I could even tell from its size and the shape of its skull, that it had been a stallion. A pair of small, wire-rimmed glasses rested on the end of the skeleton's muzzle. It was sitting where the unicorn had obviously died, leaned up against the stone column, holding the book. I took it all in, slowly bent down, and picked up a long, wooden stick from the floor, never taking my eyes off of the two dark holes in the skull. I stood up with the stick, leaned in closer, paused a moment...then poked the skeleton. The dead unicorn did not object. He didn't attack me, or even move. Just to be sure, I poked the skeleton again. The dead pony still didn't move. I looked around the room, and sat my torch on a podium made of stone.

"Now...just...um..." I said quietly, sizing up the situation. I grabbed the large book the skeleton was holding. Whatever was inside had to be really important. She gave the book a tug, but it didn't budge. I grunted, irritated, and pulled harder at the book. With a crack, it finally gave way, and I let out an embarrassing squeak as I fell backwards, holding onto the book. I landed on my back, and quickly stood up and threw open the book. Instead of being full of ideas on how to find my brother and Dash and get out of the house. All I saw were pages of strange symbols and writing in some language I didn't understand.

The book had to contain something useful, and I flipped to the first yellow page. Fortunately, it was written normally, in a really nice flowing hoofwriting. I glanced around and found a candle in a brass candleholder. I lit it with my torch and sat down to study the book. I started reading it out loud.

"Herein lies the magical and her...hermetic journal of Professor Midnight Mist, alchemist and master adept...whatever that is...in the order of...blah, blah, blah..." I paused and looked over at the skeleton. "Huh. At least I know who you are now, bro." I turned back to the book, and flipped through several more pages, scanning over each one for information. I didn't really understand most of what was written on the pages. It seemed to be a lot of magical theories, stuff about spells and...I saw the words 'ghost' and 'possession' written several times. I'd always liked ghost stories, but that's kind of what they always were...stories. I'd never seen a ghost before. I always believed they could exist, but this house seemed to prove it to me, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing...

"Oh..." I said softly. I noticed a ribbon hanging out of the book, used to mark pages I opened the thick book to the marked section. The top of the page had something written in big letters.

"Dom...Domus...Dee...vivee..." I tried to pronounce the title. Then I glanced down, and saw where the professor had written 'Or how to create the house of the living ghosts'. "Oh...derp." I groaned. One of the passages caught my eyes. It had been underlined twice by the professor, and I read it out loud. "If properly commenced and executed faithfully...this encantation shall bring upon its master power untold...at the cost of blood, and spirit dear." I slowly looked back at the skeleton. "Geez bro...what kind of crap were you messin' with?" I followed more of the professor's writing, but it turned into more formulas and magic words and random jargon I didn't understand. I started flipping through the pages until I was near the back of the book. There, I saw in large letters what Professor Midnight Mist had scribbled:

"The house is not haunted by spirits of the dead. The house itself is now a ghost. The walls, the very floor are alive with the Tartarusian energy I have conjured. I have no control over the house. Celestia help me. What have I unleashed?" I gulped, and turned the page. The professor's writing was now smaller and it looked like he had written it slowly and with purpose.

"I am trapped. The house will not allow my escape. Not whilst I live, or as I fear, not even my soul. I have damned myself to this house for all eternity. I have damned all those who enter herein. Forgive me. Please, forgive me for what I have done." I looked up from the book with tears in my eyes. It all made sense now. I now knew the truth about the house, and my mind was putting it all together. The house was really alive...in a way, at least. This professor dude had allowed evil spirits to possess the house, thinking he'd get some kind of weird supernatural powers. Then the house had turned on him. I looked again at the skeleton of the professor and sighed.

"You had no idea what you were doing, did you?" I asked. I couldn't help but wonder how he had died. What had the house done to him? It fed on ponies' worst fears. What had Mist's been? I couldn't help but feel sorry for the unicorn wizard. I sighed again.

"I forgive you, professor...you've probably like...been punished enough...so...yeah..." I whispered in the direction of the bones. I turned back to the book and turned another page. "Bro, tell me you at least wrote something in here I can use..." I scanned the pages. "Come on...something that can help my brother..." I was getting mad. I yelled at the skeleton. "My family's gonna die! Why couldn't you write some spells or something to stop this?!" I took a deep breath, and looked down at the page below me. More of Midnight Mist's hoofwriting.

"If anypony finds this journal, I beseech you friend, read the following passage aloud. My trapped soul, by force of will alone, may be able to save yours. Time is now short. I am sorry."

"His trapped soul may save mine...the heck does that mean?" I said to myself. I looked at the last passage written in the old book. Why not? I didn't have any better ideas at the time.

"Surge carcerum spiritus sus...citannnt...um...qui indiget sapientiam tuuuam. Uh...Surge. Excita. Ego praaaeeecipiiiooo...TIBI!" I looked around the room, expecting to see some big flash of light, or to hear thunder or something. There was nothing but silence. I read the last line again, even louder. "EGO...PRAECIPIO...TIBI!" Still nothing.

"Ugh!" I growled, slamming the book shut. I stood up and walked over to the skeleton, and stared angrily at the pile of dusty old bones.

"What the crap?!" I shouted. "You were supposed to be some kind of...of big powerful wizard guy! Can't you do anything to help my family?! HUH?! No...cause you're just a big pile of rotten old bones!" I shoved the skeleton. "So just...sit there! Sit there and be dead! I WANT MY BUBBY!" I shoved the bones hard. There was a cool breeze, and the sound of somepony clearing their throat.

"Ahem...could you please refrain from doing that, young miss?" A voice said from behind me. "I can still feel that." I spun around, and saw a glowing, misty unicorn standing in the center of the room. He wore an old-fashioned bowtie, and wire rimmed glasses, and had a white goatee. I let out a whimper. It was a ghost, and it was with no doubt the ghost of Professor Midnight Mist himself.

"Wh...what do you want..." I finally asked nervously.

"You are the one who conjured me, dear." The spirit replied. "So I conclude that it is you who wished for something of me. A way out, perhaps?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Me and my brother, and his marefriend are trapped in here. We gotta get out of this house. Can you help?"

"No." The ghost of Professor Mist said. That wasn't what I wanted to hear, and I suddenly felt helpless. "But you can." He said. I stared at him, wondering what he could have meant. "Next to that shelf is a secret staircase. It leads back up into the house." His image dimmed for a moment, and he looked around. "No time left...take my journal. The house if afraid too. It can be killed. Fond your family, and kill...the...heart."

"The heart?" I asked. "How does a house have a heart?"

"The journal...in the journal...you can do it...you're the one who figured...it..." Suddenly, he was gone. I stood there, completely in shock from what had just happened. No time to think about it now. I had to find my family. I picked up the book and took a deep breath.

"Alright..." I whispered, looking for the secret door the ghost had told me about. "Let's do this..."


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

 _Hey everypony. I'm finally back with chapter 16. Sorry for the delay, but better late than never, eh? As I said before, last chapter was the turning point in the story, but don't think everything's gonna be sunshine, lollipops, and pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows just yet. I humbly petition you the readers, for reviews and I hope you all enjoy this one._

I sat in the corner formed by a right turn in the long hallway, slumped against the wall like a dead pony. I had gotten lost from Dashie, and now my sister was lost too. My family was somewhere inside this cursed old house, lost, scared, maybe hurt...maybe worse. They needed me, and all I could do was sit in the dark, unable to to a damned thing. Maybe this was it. Maybe the house had won, and there was no getting out. Without Dash and my sister, I didn't even want to get out anymore.

"Rotten...sick...twisted...damned old house..." I muttered, scraping lines into the wooden floor with a rusty nail. I would pause, and watch the gouges slowly heal. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I threw the nail as hard as I could down the corridor. "I hope somepony burns you to the ground!" I yelled. My voice echoed down the empty halls mockingly. "I want my family, house!" I screamed. I started breathing hard, and couldn't stop. My mind was spinning. "DAAAASHIIIEEEE! BUDDEEEEERRRR!" I called frantically. "DAMN YOU, HOOOUUUUSE!" I felt like I was losing my mind.

Suddenly, there was a sliding sound from behind me, followed by a rush of cold air. I spun around, and half-drew my saber from its scabbard, ready and willing to go down fighting.

"Bubbyyyyy!" My sister squealed, diving into me. We tumbled to the floor, and Budder dropped the strange old book she'd been holding and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back, ecstatic to finally be reunited with my little sister.

"Sis! Sis, where have you been?!" I cried. "I was so worried about you, angel!"

"I was worried about _you_ , bubby!" My sister began. "I fell down a hole...and then I found this weird secret room thingy, and there was a naked skeleton and hidden doors and...and the skeleton had this book, and I read this spell, and a ghost pony like...manifestered or something, and it turns out there's a way out of here!"

"Naked skeletons?" I asked. "What skeleton...WAIT! Did you say you found a way out?! You're sure?!"

"I dunno." Budder shrugged. "I think so. We just have to kill the house...the ghost said so."

"Kill...the...house..." I repeated slowly, tasting the strange sentence. "How do you...kill a house?

"I think we have to kill the heart." Budder grinned. I gave her a deadpan look.

"Um...I _would_ say that sounds completely insane, but here we are in a haunted house..."

"It's not really haunted." My sister said matter-of-factly, retrieving the large book from the floor.

"Huh. Could have fooled me..." I muttered.

"It's possessed." My sister added.

"That's better?" I queried.

"Okay, the house is like...I guess how we all have like spirits inside us, making us go and stuff? Well this house is kinda like the same thing, you know?" I thought about her statement for a moment.

"Are you saying this house is...alive, and it actually has a soul and everything?"

"I guess."

"And we can kill it?"

"Yep."

"Sis?" I grinned. "I love you."

"Heehee." She giggled. My sister suddenly looked around. "You didn't find Dash yet?"

"No..." I said sourly. "I haven't...I thought you two were gone forever..." Budder whimpered, and hugged me again. I felt a little better now. Budder, my little sister had figured out how this house worked. Plus, she had a magical book, or whatever it was, and according to her, she'd already conjured a ghost. Maybe we had a shot at getting out of here after all.

"Now..." I said. "I think we should go find her and put a stop to this. That book you have...you think it's the key to this thing?"

"Well, that's what the ghost said."

"Heh...well I guess we're gonna have to go off of the word of a ghost then." I stated. "Well sis...you're the expert now. Lead the way."

"Um...expert? Ehe..." Budder replied nervously. "Juuuust a sec..." I sighed as she plopped down on the floor and opened the book. I watched as she flipped through several pages studiously. I lightly kicked at the floor, waiting on her to speak. I sighed impatiently as she flipped through a few more pages.

"Umm...sis?"

"Just a sec." She ordered, her gaze still on the contents of the book. I gave her a few moments more, and then decided that this book might actually be a waste of time.

"Hey um...look sis..." I began. "I don't think..."

"Shup! I found it!" Budder said with a grin. Oh well, egg on _my_ face. I walked over and attempted to look over her shoulder. Budder noticed me, and changed position deliberately.

"Get your own magic book, bro!" Budder chided before giving me a mischievous grin. I groaned, which only made my sister giggle.

"Okay, moving right along..." I muttered.

"Huh? Oh yeah..." She said. "According to the book, the house will shift. It moves around like a crazy maze that keeps changing." She read a little more. "But...there's only like so many forms that it can take, especially if there's more than one pony inside."

"Okay...yeah, that makes sense." I stated. "So what do we do?"

"I think..." Budder mumbled, reading through more of the book. "Okay...um...yeah..." She looked up with a please smile. "Weapons!"

"What?" I quickly asked, not sure if I had heard her right.

"Did you know this house can heal itself?"

"Yeah...I kinda figured that out..." I sighed.

"It's like a living thing. It can heal if you hurt it. It feels it too. Like the wood and the floor boards and the walls...that's like its skin or something. Professor Mist said the house can be afraid too."

"Okay...so how do we hurt it?" I asked.

"Well, like I said, you can hurt it with fire or knocking holes in it and stuff. It gets stronger if you're afraid, but if you stand up to it, it loses some of its power. That works too, I think."

"So...not being afraid...and fire." I said. I looked into the flame of my torch, and then looked back at my sister, beaming her a big smile. "I'm so proud of you. You know that?" I commented, making Budder smile proudly. "Grab your book. Let's go get Dashie. With that, my sister grabbed a torch from the wall and lit it off of mine. She picked up the strange book, and we began to walk side-by-side down the hall.

"I wonder what this old Hell House thinks of your plan, sis?" I asked. I was answered by a rumbling groan that emanated from the bowels of the house.

"I don't think it likes the plan." Budder said in a low voice.

"That means it's a good one." I reassured her. I peered ahead, down the hall. "Dashiiiiieeee!" I called.

"Rainbow Dash!" Budder yelled. The house groaned again.

"Can it, house." I muttered.

We finally came to a dead end, and on either side of us was a door. Budder opened to book to a page she had marked earlier, and studied it for a moment. Without a word, she pointed to the door on the left. I opened the door and thrust my torch inside. It was a small, unfurnished room, with a door at the other side. I looked at Budder, and she nodded. We moved through the small room, and out the opposite door, into another hallway. She held the book open and looked down both directions before shrugging.

"You don't know where to go?" I asked, irritated.

"Well, this book ain't a good map!" My sister protested. "It's telling me like where the halls might be, and how they arrange themselves or whatever That's what I'm going off of..." She sounded hurt by my accusation.

"Alright...sorry." I said. "Why don't we find someplace to have a sit down, and you can figure out the layout of everything. How does that sound?"

"Okay." She agreed. I knew we weren't gonna find Dash by wandering around in circles. We had to take a moment to figure out where we were and where we were going.

"Alright...pick a door."

 _So thankfully, Budder found Drake, and they're back together...for now. Will they find Rainbow Dash? Will they be able to escape the house? And speaking of the house, does it have any more cruel tricks up its sleeve? I will try to have Chapter 17 up later tonight, or maybe tomorrow if I turn in early. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony!_


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

 _Hey everypony. Finally got chapter 17 up, as you can see. Would have gotten it up sooner, but I was dead tired last night. This is a pretty dark chapter, and I hope you all like it. If you've been following Drake's story from the beginning, you'll really get what's going on. So here it is, submitted for your approval._

We found ourselves in a huge bedroom, and the only thing that I could think of by looking around was how obscenely rich the pony who built this place had to have been. Our home was a bit large for three ponies, that I would admit, but I would never forgive myself if I ever bought a bed that could sleep half of the 12th Cavalry.

"Okay sis..." I said, "See if you can't decipher the layout of this place. Sunrise is in a little over an hour, and I don't feel like spending another night in this house of horrors."

"Kay. On it." Budder replied, opening the large book. "Um...just gimme a few..."

"Alright, just take your time...in a hurry, alright?" I urged. "We gotta find Dashie before this house...mm...just..."

"I know, bub." Budder said gently. "It'll be okay."

"And I know you can do this." I said. She began reading the book, turning pages back and forth. I stood watch as she searched for the answer to this maze of a house.

"Lieu...Lieutennant Draaaaake..." A voice rasped. Not again. I slowly turned to the bed, where a figure lay covered by a white sheet stained with splotched of crimson. I took a step toward the bed apprehensively.

"Bubby...don't..." Budder whimpered.

"I...I have to..." I whispered. "I mean...what if it's somepony...in trouble..." I crept closer to the still, silent, shrouded form.

"Drake..." She whispered. I reached forward, and gently grasped the bloodstained sheet in my right hoof. I swallowed hard, and pulled the sheet back. My stomach turned, and I felt dizzy. Laying on the bed was Private Apple Dumplin, one of the troopers under my command during the massacre that had nearly broken me. His body was covered in wounds, and a large portion of his scalp was missing, exposing bare skull. I let out a whimper, and staggered backwards, knocking over the nightstand.

"BUB!" Budder cried out. "It's not real!"

"No...please no...not this..." I choked, my eyes glued to the body on the bed. I stumbled over something large in the floor and fell. I turned my head to find myself staring into the lifeless eyes of Sergeant Hardtack. I screamed and somehow got to my hooves.

"Bubby...what is it?!" My sister shrieked. "Who are they?!"

"No...stop...guh...I...can't..." I felt sick, and turned away to vomit.

"Hold on...I...I can find a spell or something." Budder called as I coughed and tried to spit away the taste of bile in my mouth. I spun around, only to find myself face to face with the now living corpse of Apple Dumplin. My legs felt weak, like they were made of rubber. I was frozen in place with fear as I stared into the glazed eyes of my former trooper.

"Why...why did you do this to meeeee..." The dead pony questioned. I let out a groan of mortal terror. Images of the slaughter flashed into my mind. I could almost smell the blood again. "Why aren't you dead...like usssss?"

"P...please..." I whispered, tears in my eyes.

"You killed us, lieutenant..." Another voice said. I fearfully turned my head. There stood Hardtack, his face inches from mine. I whimpered. "Murderer." He stated. _No...not that, please._ "Coward."

"Leave him alone!" My sister yelled. "Get away from him!"

"Left us...to rot in the...desert..." Another voice muttered from behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut, and fell to the floor.

"Look at us..."

"Murderer."

"Betrayer..."

"STOP IT!" I cried out. "Please...make it stop! Make it stop!"

"We're not afraid of you!" I heard my sister scream. "Tell them, bubby! Tell them, whoever they are, that you're not afraid!"

"I...I..." I stammered. Knowing my sister was there made me feel safer. I pushed all of the memories away. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. "You're...not...real." I stood and stared into the eyes of Apple Dumplin. "You're not even the real Private Apple Dumplin! You're not REAL! You're a dream! A NIGHTMARE! And I"m not afraid of you ANYMORE!" With that, I leaped at the undead figure, prepared to pummel it into oblivion. Instead, I ended up facedown on the hard wood floor. I quickly stood and looked around, to find that the apparitions had vanished. I stood in silence a moment, then walked over to my sister and lay down beside her, my head in my forelegs.

"Bubby?" Budder said softly.

"Just read the book, angel." I whispered, not even looking up. I felt the tears pouring from my eyes, and I wasn't about to let Budder see that.

"Who...who were they?" She asked.

"Please...just...don't." I brooded, clamping my eyes shut.

"Drake, spill." She stated. I sighed, and looked up at her.

"They were soldiers. Troopers under my command. It was...like over two years ago, before I met Dashie."

"What happened?" Budder pressed.

"They...were killed in battle. That's all I'm going to tell you until you get older, okay?"

"It was bad...wasn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah...it was bad, angel. I...I really don't like talking about it."

"I understand." My sister said. She leaned in and hugged me.

 _Now that was a hit below the belt, wasn't it? But wait, somepony from Drake's past was missing. Why? Maybe the house has more in store for Drake? You'll just have to wait and see. Once again as always, I'll try to get the next chapter up tonight. If I can't, it'll be tomorrow. Please, tell me what you think. Until next chapter, thanks for reading everypony!_


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

 _Wow...I think that was the longest delay yet in getting a chapter up. I'm terribly sorry about that, everypony. I've been busy with family stuff, and working on my novel and a hundred other things that robbed me of time and energy to work on this story. I'm gonna shoot for having it finished in the next week. So here...finally is chapter 18. Enjoy, everypony._

Okay, I finally got it...I think." My sister said, looking up from the book.

"You're sure?" I asked.

"Well...I think so." Budder replied. "We gotta take a right when we leave this room, and...I'll tell you from there.

"Alright...works for me." I said. "I trust you, sis." We left the room, making a right down a short hall. Then we turned left and walked through a sitting area, complete with a couple of chairs and a small table, before walking down another hall. I was getting sick and tired of halls at this point.

"Are we close yet?" I asked finally.

"Huh? Close to what?" Budder asked.

"I dunno, to whatever place you're taking us." I replied. "You're the one with the ghost-magic spellbook thing."

"Ghost-magic spellbook?" My sister repeated. She looked at me incredulously a moment. "You broke me again."

"Sis..."

"I'm workin' on it, bruh...chill." Budder said.

As soon as we made it around the next corner, I stopped dead in my tracks, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Drake!" Dash called from down the hall.

"Dashie..." I breathed, relieved that we were finally all back together. I ran toward her, and my rainbow-maned marefriend leaped onto me in a hug.

"Are you really...you, or whatever?" Dash asked, holding me tightly.

"Heh. I think so. Are you...you?"

"The one and only." Dash replied. She grinned, and kissed me on the lips. "See? Now where the hay have you two been?"

"Long story..." I stated. "But I have good news. Budder here had a tactical sitdown with a ghost, and there's a way out."

"A ghost? Dude, what?!" Dash exclaimed. Budder giggled.

"I'll tell you later. We gotta get the Hell out of this place." I said.

We walked down the staircase, and turned down another hall. We came to a door, and I gave Dash and Budder a glance, then threw open the door. Immediately, I let out a whimper, and fell backwards onto the floor, kicking to try to escape from what I saw.

"It's been a while, Drake..." Spring Shower said, stepping out of the door towards me.

"No...no, you're dead." I gasped. There was my first marefriend, wearing her fringed vest, wide-brimmed hat, and her Bowie knife. She smiled at me...that cocky little smile she always gave me.

"Yeah, I'm dead, Drake..." She answered. "And you are too, didn't you know that? You died back at the fort. Don't you remember?"

"Shut up..." I commanded. "I'm not dead..."

"Oh yes you are, Drake." Spring replied. "You died when you let your troopers get massacred. You died the moment you came back to the fort and found me. You remember that, don't ya?"

"What is it talking about? Who is she?" Dash asked, frightened.

"I...I..." I stammered.

"I trusted you..." Spring said, stepping toward me. "I loved you, Drake. I wanted to get outta that place and go off with you, and be happy...I could've made you happy, Drake. Didn't I make you happy?"

"You're not real." I whispered. "You're not really Spring. You're nothing but this damn house trying to get into my head!"

"Drake..." Spring began. I stood up and stared into her blue eyes.

"You're not real. Leave me alone." I stated. I watched as the image of Spring faded out into nothingness. I let myself slump down to the floor, emotionally exhausted again.

"Drake?" Dashie asked, walking over slowly, and sitting down beside me. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I lied. I let out a sigh, and once again had to force haunting memories of my past down and focus on the problem at hoof. "Come on guys...we gotta get out of here." I stood and started to walk through the doorway.

"Drake, who was she?" Dash asked. I froze.

"No, Dash..." I replied.

"Was she your..." Dashie began, but trailed off, like she didn't want to finish her question.

"Yes. She was." I answered. "She was my marefriend, Dashie. She died at the fort." I was silent a moment. "Come on...I'm done with this place."

"Same here..." My sister agreed, walking through the open door.

"I ain't mad or whatever." Dash whispered, walking through next. She smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I turned back to the now empty hall, and just before closing the door, I closed my eyes, and gave a silent apology to Spring...the real Spring, wherever she was.

Budder led us through the house, and back down to the first floor. It was there that we realized the stupidity in tracing our path back to the front door. We had made it back to where we started, but everything was still locked up tight, and there was no getting out. So we ended up standing there in the large front room like idiots, wondering what to do next.

"You hear that?" Dash finally said.

"What?" I asked, wondering what the house was going to do now. Before my marefriend could answer, I heard it too, a scream...muffled and quiet. "The Hell is that?" I muttered. Budder drew closer to me as the sound got louder...and louder. Now it sounded like multiple ponies screaming in misery and pain, and it kept getting louder.

"Bub?" My sister whimpered, getting even closer to me. The screams were almost unbearable.

"Drake! We gotta get out of here!" Dash called over the horrible noise.

"Come on!" I yelled, leading my family back up the stairs, away from the hellish wails. The further we went into the house, the more the sound faded. By the time we got to the second floor, and several halls back, the screaming had stopped. There was nothing to do now but try to find another way out.

"Okay, sis...is there anything in that book about how to beat this house?" I asked.

"I dunno...maybe?" She replied with uncertainty.

"Well what were you saying about killing the house and the heart and all of that?" I questioned.

"That's what the ghost said." Budder answered. "He said we have to kill the heart."

"Well...where is the heart?" Dash asked. My sister opened the book and flipped through it.

"I didn't see anything about the heart..." She said.

"Are you sure it has a heart?" I asked with a sigh.

"Bubby...I'm the one who fell down a tunnel and talked to a ghost that came out of an old skeleton." Budder shot back. "He said we have to kill the heart."

"Okay, okay..." I said. "Well, I guess we gotta try and find the heart. Sis, you see if you can't find out where the heart is. Looks like we're not going anywhere until then."

We found a small room off the hall, and Dash and I sat impatiently while my sister began to study the book. We had come this far, and none of us were about to let this evil old mansion win. Hopefully, we could find where this heart was, and how to kill this house once and for all.

 _Once again, everypony, sorry for the long hiatus. I was just busy. I will try to have chapter 19 up soon though. I hope you enjoyed this one. Will they find a way out? You'll just have to wait and see. Reviews please. Until next chapter, thanks for reading, everypony._


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

 _Hey everypony, I'm back with another chapter of Volume 6. I'd hoped to get this up ALOT sooner, but then life happened, and...well, you know how that goes, right? I'm happy to say that after this chapter, there are only two more, and this volume is over. Afterwards...more adventures of Drake and Co. Adventures that include haunted mines, walking trees, supernatural serial killers, and *spoiler alert* special appearances by fan favs like Sunset Shimmer, Shining Armor, Daring Do, Octavia, and King Sombra. But we cannot move forward until this page of their life is turned, so let's get on with it. Please send me reviews. Oh, and enjoy, everypony._

"Okay, I think I got it...maybe..." My sister said in her strange, unsure way of saying that she'd figured something out.

"What? The house...you finally figure it out?" I asked

"Yeah...like finally!" Budder replied. "So like basically, you remember when I said we have to kill the heart of the house?"

"Yeah?" I answered, goading her on.

"Well, the heart isn't a heart." She stated. "The heart is souls." I stared at her a moment, then blinked.

"The heart...is...souls..." I repeated slowly, making sure I'd heard my sister right.

"I know, right?" Budder commented. "But like according to this, the house is some kind of _evil_ factory. It's kind of freaky, but it uses the energy of everypony it kills to get stronger. I shuddered. Damned creepy old house.

"To beat the house...I mean to weaken it and stuff..." My sister continued, "We have to get rid of all the souls that are stuck here. They're what's making the house strong enough to...you know, do what it's been doing, I guess."

"How do we get rid of the souls, Budder?" I asked.

"With a house cleansing, duh." My sister replied. I gave her a deadpan look, and she grinned at me.

"So you're basically saying that we have to free a bunch of ghosts, and that'll kill the house?"

"I unuhhh..." Budder answered with a shrug. "At least it'll take out some of it's power." Dash looked at me questioningly, and I gave her a shrug.

"Makes about as much sense as anything else." I said. I looked to my sister. "Can you get us a way out?" Instead of answering, she gave me a big smile. She'd figured out the house. I nodded and smiled back.

"Alrighty then..." I announced. "I dunno about you, but I'm about ready to check out of this little resort." Budder giggled.

"Awwright!" Dash said happily.

"Okay, let's go." I said, as I led my family out of the room. "Budder, where now?"

"This way, I think." My sister replied, taking the lead. Dash and I followed her down the hall.

"Kay, so what do we do if the house blocks us" Dash asked.

"It can't." Budder answered. "It's like a maze. It keeps changing and junk to mess you up, but there's always a way out."

"Oh." Dashie said. We walked down several halls, halls being the bane of my existence at this point. I was actually considering knocking down some walls when I got home, and getting rid of anything resembling a corridor. We went down a flight of stairs, and through a large room, back into yet another hall, until we finally came to a familiar flight of stairs.

"Told ya I knew where I was going." Budder smiled smugly.

"Yeah, yeah..." I remarked, rolling my eyes, taking the lead, and walking down the stairway. "Don't get too cocky now sis, you..." I stopped dead in my tracks near the bottom of the staircase.

"What? Why not?" Budder asked. I pointed a shaking hoof toward the front door.

"That's why." I stated grimly. The large front room was filled with transparent, misty forms of at least 50 ponies, actual ghosts of dead ponies standing between us and the door. There were stallions, mares, and even a couple of foals. Some wore fancy clothing, bowties and ballgowns. A few wore hardhats and tool belts, and I assumed that these were the missing construction ponies.

"Um..eheheheh..." Budder chuckled nervously. "Heeeyyy...um...ghosts."

"Ghosts..." Dashie muttered. She inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled, trying to keep from freaking out. "I never believed in ghosts."

"Well...maybe you can tell it to those guys." I said, not taking my eyes off of the spectral mob. "Sis...I hope you know what to do."

 _So that's chapter 19. I hope you liked. I'll have the next chapter up soon. I'm sitting here with the last two chapters written out before me, and I'm rather anxious to get this story done, so chapter 20 will be up in a couple hours. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony._


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

 _As promised, I managed to get chapter twenty up tonight too. 2AM, and I'm sitting here watching Frasier and typing MLP fanfictions. Heheh. Such is my life. I hope you enjoy this chapter. As this story reaches its finale, please send me reviews with you comments, thoughts, feelings and questions about this volume. And enjoy chapter 20 everypony. Here it is._

"They're fakes! Illusions!" I yelled. The large group of ghost ponies stood between us and our way out. Their eyes hollow and blank as their expressions, the apparitions stood solemnly, guarding the door. "They can't be real..." I stated. "...just another trick of this house..."

"No bub..." Budder interjected. She stepped away from Dash, and walked in front of me, holding tightly to her book. "They're real...well, kind of..." I could see that my little sister was trembling slightly, but trying to keep her composure. "They're real spirits."

"Ghosts." Dashie whispered, still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was looking at real non-corporeal entities.

"So there aren't some trick? They're real disembodies spirits? Ghosts of the dead?"

"The spirits of everypony this house has killed." My sister replied in a whisper. "Look at 'em , bubby...it's like th house made them...it's slaves..." Rainbow Dash crept up behind me.

"They're so creepy." She breathed.

"They're trapped." I muttered. "Right, sis? They're prisoners."

"Yep."

"I can't fight them." I admitted. "So what do we do?"

"Get some help." Budder replied. She threw open the book. "Professor? Professor Midnight Mist...we need your help. Surge carcerum spiritus siscitant qui indiget sapientiam tuam. Surge. Exita. EGO PRAECIPIA TIBI!" The house shook violently for a moment, and then before our eyes, a glowing form arose from the floor between us and the ghosts. Inside the aura, I could make out the form of a unicorn stallion.

"Young miss..." The ghostly unicorn greeted.

"Professor dude..." Budder said. "We got this far."

"Then let us finish this." The phantasm stated. "There is little time. The back...of the last page." My sister flipped to the last page of the book as Dashie and I stood silently watching, in awe at what was playing out before us. The ghostly professor levitated into the air as my sister began reading:

"Spirits, I be...beseech you to hear me! I release you from your worldly prison and set you free. As your fears have trapped you, hear me now, mares carcerum...I release you...from your fears, and from all evil!"

"I bring you lost souls from darkness...into the light!" The professor's ghost aid, his voice becoming like the sound of wind. Beams of light shot from his form, each one striking a ghost pony.

"I banish all evil, I cast you out..." Budder recited. The house groaned, and the walls seemed to flex and bow, like waves on the sea. "I release these souls from thy evil power, and cast you down!"

"Spirits of the dead..." The professor called. "Be free. Be free from your torment...NOW!"

"I cast you out, all darkness, all evil..." Budder read loudly as a wind seemed to blow from all around us. "I cast you out...into TARTARUS!" With that, there was a flash of light. When my eyes cleared, the ghost professor was gon. Before us now stood the same ghost ponies, only now, their eyes were no longer cloudy, but had normal colors, and the ghosts looked around in confusion. The group of spirits then looked at us, and each bowed respectfully.

"You're free now." Budder said caringly. "You can leave." The first spirit turned to the door, which opened before it. The ghost trotted out, followed by the next, then the next. We watched as each of the spirits filed out of the house, walking straight into the early morning sky, followed close behind by the three of us. We watched the last of the ghost ponies walk into the sky, disappearing into the slowly brightening gray of the morning.

"Is it over now?" Rainbow Dash asked as we stood in the front yard, watching the sunrise begin to brighten the exterior of the cursed old house that had held us prisoner and tortured us all night.

"It sort of drew its power from fear. We freed the ponies it had scared to death. I guess it's...not as strong anymore." Budder answered.

"So it's still alive." I stated.

"I think so." My sister stated.

"Then...it's not over." Dashie sighed.

"YES IT IS!" I exclaimed, grabbing everypony's torches and galloping back onto the porch. "Alright, house, remember when I said I'd beat you? Well here you go!" I threw one of the torches into the hose, onto the couch in the front room. The old material of the chair ignited instantly. "That one's for trying to hurt my family, damn you!" I slung the second torch onto the staircase, and watched the fire begin to take hold on the wood, and climb up the wall of the stairway, the peeling wallpaper catching like kindling. "That one's for all those ponies you killed!" I started to throw the third torch, but paused a moment. The house was groaning and creaking, and shudders rocked the structure.

"NoooooOOOOOoooOOoo..." An eerie wind called from inside the mansion. I grinned evilly.

And _this_ is because you're a filthy, ugly old house, and you're killing the curb appeal around here! HA! With that, I threw the last torch against the far wall and galloped away from the house. Rejoining Dash and Budder, I turned to see flames take hold of the front room. There the three of us stood, watching fire consume more and more of the huge house. The mansion groaned and creaked and growled as it was slowly destroyed in the fire.

"Now...it's over." I said solemnly.

"Yep." My sister agreed. "We did it, bubby." I chuckled and watched as the roof began to cave in.

"No...you did it, angel." I finally replied. We were silent a moment. "I'm proud of you."

"Mmm." Budder sounded, nuzzling me.

"Well I'm proud of both of you." Dashie added. "If anypony was going to beat this old house, it was going to be the most awesomest family ever!"

"Woo!" Budder exclaimed happily. Her smile fell, and my sister looked like she was in deep thought.

"What is it?" Dash asked.

"Professor Mist...that unicorn ghost... he's the one who gave me this book..." Budder explained.

"What about him?" I asked.

"Did he get freed too?" Budder asked. "Or is he...?" 

"I am well young friend." A familiar voice from behind us said. We turned to see the spirit of Professor Mist standing before us.

"You're okay!" Budder exclaimed.

"Quite more. I'm free." The spirit replied. "Thanks to you, I and ALL of the imprisoned souls have been released from this horror I created." The ghost smiled. "Nopony in over a century could fight the evil of this house. I waited a century and a half for somepony to come along, who could unlock the secret of that evil, and work the spell with me. You did... the impossible. I am eternally grateful."

"Ehhhh... It's alright Professor." Budder said modestly. I finally managed to make my brain, vocal cords and mouth form intelligible words.

"Uh... sorry... but if you're a ghost, how are you... you know... standing here in daylight ehhehhe..."

"Hm...oh...haha. Spirits walk among you day AND night, sir. I assure you. You just pay better attention at night."

"Oh...well... I'll keep that in mind." I said nervously.

"I must go now." The spirit said. "But before I depart, I wish to bestow something upon you." The spirit's form began to glow, then fade out like fog in the morning sun. "Thank you again young lady. And remember, your destiny has been set We are always amongst you. And you shall find us. Farewell." With that he was gone.

"Wow." Budder said. "Just... wow..."

"Ghosts..." Dash stated. "There are real ghosts..." She let out a dramatic shudder. "I'm gonna be creeped out for a month." She looked at me, only to see my mouth hanging open. "What is it Drake?"

"Sis...sis..." I stammered. Budder looked confused.

"What? Bub? Wha...what is it?" She asked confused.

"Angel..." I started in awe. "Your flank...!" I exclaimed.

"Huh? What?!" She gasped, twirling around to get a better look at her rear thigh. "Bubby! My cutie mark! I finally got my cutie mark!" Sure enough, on my sister's flanks was her cutie mark in the form of a black question mark with a skull face superimposed on the inside. She squealed with happiness and leaped onto me, hugging me tightly. "This is so awesome! Look at it Bub! I got da best cutie mark evah!" She smiled as I laughed.

"It sure suits you Budder," I smiled. "That it does."

"That is awesome Budder." Dashie beamed. "So, whatcha think it means?"

"Well duh." Budder grinned. "Didn't you hear what the Professor said? I KNOW what it means? I'm destined to be the greatest paranormal investigator... EVER!" 

_The house is destroyed, Drake and his family are safe now, and Budder got her cutie mark. The story couldn't have ended better, eh? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and all the good that has finally come from such a horror story. Soon, I will have the last bit up, and we can close this chapter of Drake's life, and see where fate takes our favorite stalwart lieutenant next._


	21. Epilogue

Epilogue

I sat at the breakfast table in the kitchen, drinking a mug of strong black coffee. Across from me at the table, Princess Celestia sat, listening to the ending of my account with intense interest. When I had finished with my story, the princess sat in silence a moment, then looked at Dash, then at Budder, then back to me.

"Well Lieutenant Drake..." She said. She cleared her throat. "It seems that you three had quite an adventure."

"You can say that again, princess." Dashie commented.

"And of course you must know that you are the first ponies to have ever defeated such powerful magic without being unicorns or alicorns. I am as impressed as ever with my greatest detectives."

"Eh, it's really Budder who deserves the credit there, Your Highness." I said. "She's the one that figured out all the paranormal hullabaloo."

"Hull...a...baloo?" My sister asked dryly. "Where do you come up with all these... _words_?" Celestia giggled.

"Oh, I am very happy with young Budder and the part she played in all of this." The princess replied. "And the manner in which she received her cutie mark is quite poignant indeed."

"Say wha..." Budder asked.

"I mean to say that I believe you have discovered your calling as a paranormal expert. And..." She giggled again. "In the future, I am instructing you to accompany your brother and Rainbow Dash on all cases involving possible paranormal involvement." I watched Budder's smile grow larger and larger. "And to aid you, you may keep the journal of Professor Midnight Mist, and as a personal gift from me, I have several books about the paranormal being sent to you from Canterlot. You are to study and grow in your knowledge and expertise in the supernatural. Can you do that for me?"

"EEE!" Budder squaked happily. She grinned nervously. "Sorry princess...I mean, yep, I'll study. I gotta be the best."

"And I'm sure you will be." Celestia smiled. "It...runs in the family, apparently..."

"Oh, ma'am?" I said. "These um...eheh...paranormal cases?"

"Don't worry, Drake." Celestia said. "They seem to happen fairly regularly. I'm sure I can assign a few here and there. Of course my sister is the one that deals with the supernatural, so she'll be assigning you most of the paranormal cases herself. I'm sure you'll make us both proud."

"Ughhh...Your Highness..." I whined. Celestia gave my sister a wink, making her laugh.

"Oh, and I have not forgotten your pay for this case, lieutenant." Princess Celestia continued, unfazed. Her horn lit up, and a small chest floated in the door, and drifted onto the table. "I threw in...a bit extra for all of your trouble." She grinned, and I heaved a sigh. "I will be in contact. Farewell for now, my loyal detectives."

 _So ends volume six of the Drake Chronicles. My thanks to all of you who have read, faved and reviewed this story, and a special thanks to all of you who have followed Drake's story from the very beginning. It seems so long ago, doesn't it? It's only been five months since his story began, but it seems like ages. And the story is far from over. There are more adventures to come as Drake, Rainbow Dash and Budder have more cases, go through more ups and downs, and live out their lives amid the backdrop of Equestria. Volume 7 will begin in a few days, as soon as I get back from this weekend's Civil War reenactment. So until then, my loyal readers...thank you all for reading._


End file.
